The Life and Times
by Jonque
Summary: An attempt at the time-travel genre, wherein a girl with a somewhat unhealthy fixation on a boy finds she suddenly has all the time in the world to get things right.
1. 0000

**The Life and Times**

* * *

_"Most people believe death to be some sort of release or reprieve from pain. They are wrong. It hurts—worse than anything you can possibly imagine. Or it doesn't, and you simply lose consciousness and are unaware as you slip off into nothing. Or it happens so quickly that you are left with only a vague notion of what happened, only sure that it's over—I've gotten particularly good at that one, out of necessity. There are as many deaths as there are living beings—more, probably, and while I have lived so very many of them, I couldn't tell you what happens after. I don't know and it terrifies me."_

* * *

With a shuddering intake of breath, she rejoined the waking world. Phantom pain clenched vice-like around her heart and she rolled over and out of a sleeping bag as she began to cough, suppressing the urge to heave. Movement from nearby drew her attention to the other three inhabitants of the wooded area she'd woken to.

"You okay there, Hinata?" a voice—male, and somewhat loud even despite the obvious attempt at quiet on his part—asked as its owner stepped into her field of view.

"Fine," she rasped, searching for and finding the canteen tucked into her sleeping bag. Sitting up, she opened it and took a small swallow, sighing through her nose as the cool water eased her pained throat. Pale eyes took in their surroundings and she frowned, suddenly paying much more attention to the taste of the water on her tongue. _'Nothing but water,'_ she surmised after a moment of study. Teeth bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to break the skin, and her surroundings remained unwavering. She wanted to ask where they were—well, no, that isn't quite right. She _knew_where they were—after getting their scroll in the first few hours of the second stage of the chuunin exam, they had pushed towards the tower until twilight before she'd found a relatively safe area to set camp in the forest amongst the roots of just one of many of the gigantic trees that towered over the training field. What she wanted to know was why they were here and not in the tower at the center of the forest of death where she last remembered being. She had fought her cousin and lost, and had lost consciousness as the medics loaded her onto a stretcher and carted her off towards the tower's infirmary.

"Good. We don't need you getting sick out here. We're still a few hours out from the tower and I've got no idea what's waiting for us there," Kiba continued, drawing a small nod from the girl as she put away her canteen and began the process of breaking camp. "I mean, isn't the third part of this s'posed to be a tournament-style fight?"

"Typically," their third teammate confirmed quietly, dropping from his perch in the tree above them, gathering his own field pack and shouldering it. "Nothing to report."

"I think we'd know about it by now if there was," Kiba grumbled. "Just to be sure though, Hinata?" He blinked as the girl ignored him, shooting a questioning look towards Shino who, in turn, shook his head in the negative to the unasked question of whether or not their teammate had somehow been replaced under their noses during the night. "Oi, Hinata," he tried again, snapping his fingers near her head and causing the girl to flinch. "You mind?"

She sent the taller boy a questioning look for a moment before what he wanted dawned on her. They had done this the first time, minus her lapse in attention things were playing out about as she remembered them—then again, not even ninja remember every detail of every day, so she could not be entirely sure. With a mental shrug, she sealed and activated her dojutsu, sweeping the area once before dropping the chakra flow to her eyes. "We're clear." She did not fail to notice her two male teammates exchange another look, followed by a whine from the dog perched atop the loudest of the group's head.

"Uh, Hinata, are you alright?" Kiba tried again, this time genuinely wondering if she hadn't been somehow compromised in some way—either through illness or more nefarious means.

"I am fine, Kiba-kun," she answered quietly. "I just had... a bad dream." It was not a dream, though—she knew that. It _couldn't_have been. It had been far too real for that. Too real for genjutsu, even—no one that would spend the time and effort to mimic biological processes in an illusion would use that technique for anything short of subversion and/or recruitment and a lone genin, even a Hyuuga such as herself, was a poor choice of targets in the target-rich environment that was a ninja village. So if it had not been a dream, an illusion, and it had certainly been too coherent and painful for an hallucination, then what was it?

Failing to come to a logical conclusion that didn't involve either losing her sanity or something equally insane in real life that belonged only in a fantasy novel, she decided to adopt a wait-and-see approach. With that thought in mind, she took to the trees following her teammates, her body running through the motions of leaping from tree to tree and occasionally activating her dojutsu to sweep their immediate surroundings with little conscious effort on her part. Instead, she focused on something else she had seen in the... dream/illusion/vision. Neji had beaten her—soundly. She had made a good show of it and had refused to back down when he'd tried to intimidate her—largely thanks to a certain sun-haired inspiration—but he had still proven himself the better of the two of them at their family art.

Going over the fight again, she could clearly see how outmatched she was. Neji had superior height and reach, but that mattered little to a Hyuuga. He was stronger, possibly even faster too, but that was almost expected with him being a year older and male. No, the biggest difference between the two was the obvious gap in skill—somehow, Neji had learned techniques he should have little knowledge of, let alone have reverse-engineered into something usable. She couldn't fault him for it though, as he had obviously put the effort into learning them and it wasn't as though it was outright forbidden for those of the branch house to learn those techniques. It was worrying, and a little depressing, that the person she'd looked up to like an older brother for the longest time now saw her only as one of 'them' when she could remember being nothing but kind to him.

Shaking her head and pushing away that thought, she refocused on the potential fight to come. Neji's largest advantage, by far, had not been the gap in skill or strength between them but rather had been complete and total surprise. He had put her off balance psychologically right from the outset but seeing that technique turned against her by someone she loved, who was only a year older than herself and should not even know it let alone have mastered it to that level of skill... it had been shocking. Now she knew, though, and would not be caught flat-footed. The problem was, there were very few counters to that technique and most of them boiled down to 'don't be there when someone uses it,' which wasn't very helpful. Well, all of this thought was assuming what she had seen was even accurate. There was no point worrying over-much about it until she knew for sure. _'Wait and see.'_

* * *

The tower was just as silent and empty as she remembered it—they were even bunking in the same quarters they had used the 'first' time. Four days they spent in the tower, Hinata alternating between light practice when she could stand it and watching with growing dread as more and more familiar faces came in. Dawn of the final day allotted to the exams came, and she found herself watching the entrance to the tower with growing apprehension. It was with an odd mixture of relief and dread that she watched Team Seven stumble in—all three of them looking disheveled. She hadn't gotten a chance to find out what had happened to them seeing as the Hokage had called a start to the next part of the exam almost as soon as they were through the doors, but whatever it was had to have been bad.

Hinata, like most everyone else, had heard the stories after Team Seven's return from Wave—how they had faced down the Demon of the Mist and his apprentice, along with some corrupt shipping mogul and a small army of mercenaries. She knew Naruto and Sasuke had taken on the apprentice, who supposedly sported some sort of advanced bloodline, and had barely come out of it alive—word had it, Sasuke had actually been defeated and it was _Naruto_who had finally beaten Zabuza's apprentice. No one seemed willing to say how that could have happened, but none of the elder ninja she knew were willing to discount the notion either. She had a pretty good idea of what would explain both their certainty and silence, but it didn't particularly matter. What did matter was that Team Seven had run across something in the Forest of Death that was even more dangerous than the apprentice of one of the most notorious missing-nin of the century, similarly to Uchiha Itachi—arguably more infamous, really, as Zabuza had made a name for himself as a child with no bloodline or special advantages. She would have to ask, when she got the chance—if she got the chance, seeing as they were being called into the arena and they were even standing vaguely where she remembered.

Everything was happening roughly as she remembered—Naruto's team was the last to enter, the chuunin proctors, jonin-sensei, and the Hokage had called them together to explain the preliminary matches, and then they were being called in the same order and every fight came out to the same outcome. The Uchiha, obviously wounded somehow in the forest, was called first to fight someone with a nasty chakra draining technique but who beyond that was otherwise unremarkable. It could not be coincidence that immediately after he'd won—barely, at that—that Team Seven's instructor had taken the Uchiha's arm and dragged him off into a side-corridor. It was with that thought that she began to pay more attention to the fights—not the actual fighting, but the choices for who would fight who next. Choices, for that is what they must be—someone was controlling the 'random' selection board and stacking the fights in such a way as to eliminate certain individuals. Or _try _to eliminate them, as the case was with Naruto and Kiba.

Now that the thought had occurred, she could even see why it was done—not for the comfort of some nobles and civilians being forced to spend too much time sitting in one place watching matches. Honestly, she felt they would gladly pay for the final round of the chuunin exams to be a three-day festival/bloodbath, if it meant getting to watch more matches where competitors died or were injured in some way. No, what they were doing was culling undesirable elements before they made it to a larger audience. Every single fight was calculated to bring the most benefit to Konoha, it seemed. The first match, between the Uchiha and some clanless no-name—clearly picked to ensure the Uchiha, even in his obviously weakened state, made it into the finals where he would hopefully make a better showing. Pitting Ino and Sakura against each other was another instance of that favoritism towards one of Konoha's great clans—either Ino would win and bring fame to Konoha and her clan by participating in the finals before an audience, or Sakura would win and do the same, except she would be sending a different message. 'Even our genin from non-ninja clans are skilled enough to have made it to this point.' Even if they both knocked each other out—which made twice now they had done just that—then it was still a winning scenario for Konoha, in that neither of them made it into the finals to cause Konoha to lose face. The outcome of the match-up between Naruto and Kiba was surprising, but she could see even _that_was accounted for. Another major clan pitted against a veritable unknown—only the subtext was a bit different, this time. Kiba lost, and Naruto would be in the finals—he may not have realized it, but Naruto had just made himself a message from the Hokage to the rest of the world, but most especially to the rest of Konoha. To the outside world, indomitable. To those who had despised him for so very long, incorruptible. It made her smile.

Then, there was her own fight with her cousin. There could not be two Hyuuga in the finals—to allow it would be seen as showing blatant favoritism to their clan. In turning the cousins against each other, the Hokage could send yet another message—this one, to her own clan. If Neji defeated her, then it clearly showed that those of the branch house could surpass those of the main house, thus elevating their worth in the eyes of the Hyuuga. In the unlikely event she defeated Neji—for the Hokage and whoever was hand-picking the fights had to have some idea what he was capable of—then it would prove her own worth. She felt, from the flat, resigned look the old man had taken on the moment the match was called, that he was expecting more the former than the latter. He did not expect her to win this battle—and now she knew. Their Hokage, despite the kindly grandfather appearance he wore for the younger generations under his command, was completely ruthless. There was a _reason _he was known to this day as the God of Shinobi.

And it was in that realization that Neji won, again. He seemed surprised when, instead of looking on in shock and fear as she had the first time he'd used one of their family's secret techniques against her, she had simply faded back and sacrificed one arm and much of the other to block what he'd done. He truly _was_ surprised when she'd proceeded to draw kunai and return the attack as best she could. Surprise wore off after the first cut, and he had torn through her defenses and struck her heart with a lethal jyuuken attack before anyone could stop him. Her last sight as the world swam in pain and went dark around her was Neji's judging gaze finding her own, and apparently finding her lacking.

* * *

Kurenai hummed in thought as her favorite student found her taking a meal, the evening of the second day of the exam. It looked as though she had come straight here from entering the tower, as the girl dropped her field pack and dropped into the seat across from her... and promptly retrieved a set of chopsticks from her pack and began to dig in to Kurenai's own meal. "Hey, get your own," the woman grumbled, but there was no real heat behind her words.

When her student made no response but to keep eating, Kurenai gave a mental shrug and took another sip of her tea—whatever was on her mind, Hinata would tell her in her own time. So it was, she almost drowned on her tea when she registered the first words the girl had spoken to her since arriving. "The preliminary matches are not random." It was not a question.

Clearing her throat and setting her cup down before she lost any more of the liquid therein, Kurenai regarded her student carefully. It was certainly Hinata and not some impostor, but she looked... tired, world-weary almost. Then again, given the girl's opening statement, she could guess where this was likely to go. "I'm sorry."

It was not the answer she was expecting—she didn't know whether the apology as an admission of the truth was better or worse than a denial. Instead, she forged ahead. "Neji's team is very good—there is little doubt they will fail to make it through, and unless four or less teams pass this part of the exam, there will likely be a preliminary elimination round." She made sure to phrase this all as speculatively as possible, but she doubted it would matter. When looked at from the outside, it made sense—more sense that she figured it out on her own, rather than she had lived through the event several times now. On her sensei's nod, she continued. "There can not be two Hyuuga in the final stage."

Kurenai worried her bottom lip for a moment before nodding agreement. "There can not," she admitted quietly, despite the fact that they were alone in the commissary and her team was the only team here aside from the Suna team. "It's sort of an open secret. Everyone chuunin and above knows, or suspects, but no one really talks about it. And it isn't just Konoha—to my knowledge, every village does it. The purpose—"

"Is to make sure our village makes a good showing, isn't showing blatant favoritism, and to spare us losing face should someone along the lines of Haruno or Yamanaka or... myself make it into the finals only to disappoint."

And there was the point. Of the two of them, Neji was clearly the better candidate for showcasing Konoha's strength. The Hokage knew it, Kurenai knew it, and it seemed Hinata now knew it. There was nothing she could say that would make up for the fact that she would choose Hinata's own cousin—even with all of his obvious issues—over her own student in this instance. It hurt, knowing she had essentially betrayed the girl she'd loved like a little sister—at times, like her own daughter—since the girl's own mother had passed away. Worse than that though, was the knowledge that Hinata _knew_of her betrayal.

"How would you beat him?"

Kurenai blinked, dragged back out of her depressing thoughts by that simple question. "You... there are only four days left," she pointed out, to which the girl nodded. "Genjutsu won't work, you don't have the chakra capacity for high-level ninjutsu, and there isn't enough time to practice taijutsu enough to put you on par with him."

To Kurenai's surprise, the girl nodded again, accepting all of those limitations. "What about low-level ninjutsu? Elemental, area effect, poison—anything?"

_'She's serious,'_ Kurenai realized. _'She knows what she's up against—or if she doesn't she has a damn good idea—and she's looking for exploitable weaknesses.' _Kurenai would have smiled, if the situation weren't so bleak. "I'm a genjutsu specialist, Hinata-chan. I don't actually know more than half a dozen D-ranked elemental jutsu, and most of those are non-combat techniques—and honestly, poison is too risky to use on an ally. Even the non-lethal stuff is deadly in high concentrations and difficult to direct. Really, I've only ever seen medic-nin use those types of jutsu."

"I see," the girl acknowledged.

The jonin frowned as the girl stood and gathered her bag. "What are you going to do?" The pit that had been slowly forming in her stomach since her student had sat down suddenly stretched wide as Hinata regarded her with a small smile—as though the girl knew something she herself did not.

"Keep trying."

* * *

"Hinata?"

"Hm?" the girl hummed, studying the small, brightly colored frog she'd managed to find more closely.

"What're you doing?" Kiba asked, somewhat concerned. "You know that's probably poisonous, right?"

"Yes," the girl answered shortly, pulling out a kunai and pinning the frog to the tree where it clung by the head. More kunai were removed from various pouches and all of them given more than one pass over the back of the amphibian in question.

"I believe Kiba means to ask, to what purpose are you poisoning your blades?" Shino interpreted, gaining a nod from their louder teammate. Both of them flinched a step back when the girl turned a smile on them—one they'd never seen before and did not care to see again.

"How many teams made it into the forest?" she asked, beginning to pocket her straight blades before pulling out the shuriken and preparing to coat those as well. Being that these were multi-bladed stars, she would have to be careful and selective about how she coated them, so as to not accidentally poison herself.

Kiba shrugged while Shino answered, "Twenty."

"So, this phase is to eliminate half of those. That leaves ten teams, at most, to pass into the tower. Thirty genin."

"Right," Kiba nodded. "...What's this got to do with you and the frog?"

"Of those thirty," Hinata continued, "how many would _you _pay to watch fight it out amongst themselves?"

Blinking, the Inuzuka scratched his head. "Well, off the top of my head, at least half of them."

"Uchiha, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Sabaku... perhaps Lee," Shino listed, getting a nod from Kiba.

"Yeah, pretty much all the big-name clans and some foreigners, so it doesn't look like we're playing favorites. Why?"

Hinata's smile dropped. "Of those you've named, how many are siblings?"

"Five," came Shino's flat answer, now seeing exactly where this was heading.

Kiba frowned. Something about this wasn't adding up. "You and your cousin, and the Suna team?" On the nods from his teammates, he scratched his head and gave it a minute of thought. Finally, he growled as obvious tension began to radiate off him. "Spares, you mean?"

"Correct," Shino confirmed, getting a nod from Hinata. "Which would suggest an elimination round, prior to the actual finals to remove any potential for repeat performances."

"Specifically, that means me," Hinata smiled again, pocketing the last of her weapons. "So, one of us has to step out or be forced out before the finals. It's either me or Neji, and it isn't going to be me."

Kiba shook his head as he followed the pair up into the trees and towards the tower. "That... that is cold." There were nods from his teammates. "And you, Hinata—are you really planning to kill your cousin? I thought the guy was like a brother to you."

"Was," the girl deadpanned, almost causing the Inuzuka to stumble. The Hinata they knew was shy, gentle, and kind to a fault. For her to not simply contemplate premeditated murder, but actually prepare for it... "Neji has _issues_ with the main branch of our family. I probably stopped being family to him shortly after his father died." She shook her head and continued. "He plans to kill me, given the chance. Well, not _me_, but rather the Hyuuga heiress, perhaps to force my father to face a loss similar to his own—I am not entirely sure of his reasons, only his means of seeing it through."

There was silence between them for a long time, broken only by the sound of even breathing and their feet and hands moving against the bark of tree limbs. Finally, Kiba asked, "How do you know all of this?"

"I've had a lot of time to think about it." Hinata shrugged.

Accepting the answer as the deflection it obviously was, Shino asked, "Can you go through with it?"

There was another pause, this one shorter than the last though as Hinata answered quietly, "If he forces the issue, I will certainly try."

* * *

She was dead. Again. It was... not unpleasant, in between one moment of life and the next, if one didn't mind the constant sensation of falling backwards or the backwards replay of the last several days interrupted only by long periods of darkness, which she assumed was sleep. It was in one of these flashes of black that she thought on her latest failure. Mutually Assured Destruction—she thought it would be the end-game and break her out of this... she hesitated to call it what it was, but what else could it be? She was stuck in a loop, of sorts. Faced with her own death time and time again, it was hard _not _to acknowledge it as the truth. Well, some shade of the truth, at any rate. She had thought that so long as she stayed alive until Neji died, she could break the cycle. A sound theory, certainly, except for one small problem: Neji didn't like to lose, and he certainly didn't lose gracefully. Once he'd realized what she had done, he had gone after her with a speed and determination she had yet to see from him. She hadn't been able to keep away from him long enough for the toxin to have enough of an effect to slow him down, and this time there were no warnings to surrender. The referee had no idea what brought on the sudden change in tempo, but he had let it go—and it had cost her, again.

She opened her eyes again as daylight streamed by around her. This was the first time she'd actually been conscious for the trip, apparently. Three days back, and she was falling faster, the day blurring by in reverse as she watched herself watch the others—memorizing routines, looking for potential weaknesses, anything that could help. Nothing that she could see would. Dark, and four days back—running through the trees towards the tower. _'Isn't this the day I always wake up?' _she wondered, as the world went dark again and she kept falling. Light, and she watched herself and her team make camp in a clearing, run through the forest towards the tower, lure a team into a nest of giant leeches, enter the starting gates, waking up that morning. Dark. Light again, six days back, and she was coming home from a meal out with her team.

Hinata's eyes widened as she watched the first day of the exam play out in reverse. As the version of herself she was viewing cheated on the written portion of the test, a thought occurred. "How do I stop?" Darkness. Hinata panicked, flailing, grasping, reaching for anything to get a handhold on.

She gasped, sitting up in bed as her heart attempted to escape her chest. Her eyes flickered around, taking in her surroundings as dim blue pre-dawn light filtered in through her curtains. Four walls, painted a soothing blue-purple gradient. Hardwood floor. Rice-paper door. Covers around her and bed under her. A bed. _'My bed!' _she collapsed backwards, wrapping her hands around her pillow and dragging it under the sheets and comforters with her before rolling and making a thorough mess of the bed in question. After over two months of reliving the same four-and-a-half days over and over, sleeping on nothing but a lumpy mattress in a rarely used bunk of a tower in the middle of the most dangerous training ground in Konoha, even this small joy was enough to send her into tears.

"I'm not in a loop," she murmured, squeezing the pillow tighter and closed her eyes, shuddering as the thought penetrated. She was not damned to repeat the same few days for the rest of eternity, only to die at her cousin's hands at the end of it regardless of what she did. The sudden release of the tension and dread that had built was... liberating. _'It's not a loop, and I'm not going crazy. ...I just time travel when I die. Right,'_she rolled her eyes at the sarcasm pretty much oozing off that thought before slowly pulling herself out of bed and wiping at her now puffy eyes and runny nose to try and clean her face up before going out. A proper shower and soak later and she found herself back in her room, dressing for the day. If she remembered correctly, today was the day of the written exam—which meant several things. She wouldn't have to relive a day she'd lived at least ten times now counting the original run through, she wasn't confined to either the tower or the forest, and she now had access to outside resources. Glancing at the clock, she grinned—ear-to-ear and what would have been entirely too much like a certain blond troublemaker for comfort to those who knew her. Packing light, as she didn't have to actually prepare for the forest exam until tonight, she left her home and made her way into the business district of Konoha.

_'Okay, what do we know? Firstly, somehow, I get the option to go back in time when I die. There's no point trying to figure that out, since a technique like this would have to involve some ridiculously advanced fuuinjutsu work or an undiscovered bloodline, neither of which I have access to. Secondly, I guess unless I'm conscious and aware when I die, then I fall back a random number of days—except that doesn't make sense, since every time I've died before this last time it's been four days, or nights rather. It isn't worth speculating unless I have some way of testing it, and I don't want to die a few dozen times just to test that theory. What I _do _know is that this time, I was awake for it and somehow dropped back six days—and there didn't seem to be an end to that tunnel that I could see. I could probably go further, the question is, why would I want to? ...Well, to kick Neji's ass on even ground, for one.'_

People passing by on the street gave the girl a wide berth as she made her way from her favorite breakfast eatery to a certain noodle shop deeper in the district. Something about the look in her eyes and that odd little smile were... unsettling, and considering Konoha was a ninja village full of unsettling individuals, that was saying something. Three to-go bowls later, Hinata hummed to herself as she made her way into a rundown apartment complex—empty save for one occupant. Four flights of stairs later found the girl standing in front of a familiar door—one she'd never had the courage to knock on before. Smile still in place, the kicked the door thrice and waited.

Several clicks of bolts being unbolted and chains being unchained later, a head of blond hair peeked around the door. "Huhwhazza?" he muzzled out, six in the morning apparently being far too early for her favorite blond to be awake.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun. May I come in? I brought you Ichiraku's," she offered, causing the blond's eyes to fly open as he suddenly came fully awake. Blue eyes jerked between the three stacked bowls of ramen and the familiar girl's face and back again several times before he finally nodded dumbly and opened the door wide enough for her to pass inside. Bolts were bolted and chains chained as Hinata made her way into the boy's mostly-bare kitchen, placing the bowls down in front of one chair and her own box of cinnamon goodness before the only other available one and taking a seat. A small thermos of tea came off the top of the pile of bowls and box, to be poured into the two cups Ichiraku Teuchi had been kind enough to provide.

"Not that I'm complaining about free food, especially Ichiraku's, but uh..." the blond started, taking the only other unoccupied chair and picking up the pair of disposable chopsticks provided.

"Why am I here?" Hinata asked, sending the boy a smile, and blushing slightly at the fact that he had yet to pull on anything over his boxers. Luckily—or perhaps not, actually, now that she thought about it—he had apparently worn a tee-shirt to bed. On the boy's nod, she shrugged. "I—even now, it is difficult to discuss. I've always... admired you, I suppose you could say."

"Me?" the boy asked, incredulous, as be began to dig into the breakfast the girl had brought for him. "What for?"

"Don't talk and chew at the same time, Naruto-kun," she chided gently before smiling. "I guess it's because you've always been everything I am not. Confident, strong, outgoing, and every time others wanted you to quit you refused to stay beaten." By now, the boy across from her had all but stopped eating, instead sending her a look that bordered on stunned, but she continued. "I've wanted to tell you this for... oh, years now. I was going to one day, after the first year I saw you in the academy. I bought you a birthday present and I was all set to knock on your door and deliver it and ask to be your friend... but I was afraid, and I couldn't go through with it. And I have regretted that cowardice for a very long time now."

"What..." he tried, only to find his voice failing him. All this time, _she_ had wanted to be _his _friend, him of all people? And had been too afraid? The concept was alien, almost—unbelievable, for sure. At least, until she answered.

"Goggles."

The blond blinked. "That... those were from you?!" On her nod, he shot around the table and threw his arms around her in a hug. "That was like the best birthday present ever!" the boy all but shouted. And then blinked, five seconds later, as he realized what he was doing. "Oh crap, sorry Hinata-chan," he apologized, jumping away and trying—and failing—to will himself not to blush as he retook his seat.

"You... you don't have to apologize," she murmured, causing the boy to blink again. "I liked it." Seeing his mouth opening and closing several times as he apparently tried to wrap his head around the notion, she giggled. "Would you like to be friends?"

"Would I...? YES!" this time, he did shout.

"I'm... relieved," she whispered, smiling across at the seemingly-glowing blond. Her smile slipped as she remembered what it was she'd come here to do this morning—other than enjoy herself, that is. "There is something you should know. Several things, really, but those can wait." Seeing his questioning look, she decided to go for broke. "I think I can.. kind of time travel."

Naruto was silent for several moments before he bit his lip and asked, "You're not joking? Because it'd be a pretty good prank if you were and had set up some sort of demonstration..."

"No, but that's a good idea," the girl allowed. "Actually, I do have a demonstration, but not like you're thinking. I just spent the last month or so reliving what—for me—was the last four days."

"For you?" the boy asked, scratching his head.

"Mm," the girl nodded, pulling out a pen and a sheet of paper—she had come prepared—and beginning to detail her time-line as she remembered it. "Today is the first day of the chuunin exam." Seeing the boy's widening eyes and sudden panic, she held up a hand. "Calm down, we've still got two hours before we have to report to the exam room." When the boy nodded, she continued. "The first test consists of a series of four tests, technically. Let me explain. As you enter the building, a static genjutsu laid over the area pushes you towards the second floor hallway. There, a pair of chuunin disguised as genin stand guard before a doorway numbered for the third floor."

"But it's on the second?" the boy asked, getting a nod. "So, it's a trap."

Hinata smiled. "Correct. If you actually manage to get past them and into the room, you will find a team of chuunin waiting and will be disqualified—consider this phase one: infiltration. Ignore the disguised guards and the trap room and proceed up the second stairwell to the third floor as the door leading out into the third floor corridor from the first stairwell is locked and sealed shut somehow, in case you manage to throw off the suggestive nature of the second-floor genjutsu. There, your sensei will be waiting to disqualify you if your whole team isn't with you—which is phase two, which I do not yet have a name for. Phase three is the actual written portion of the exam. Chuunin hopefuls are seated semi-randomly and given a written test—the catch here is that the questions on the exam are things only a chuunin would know. Hidden amongst the examinees are three chuunin with all the correct answers to the test. Phase three is a test of our information gathering skills. Remember how Iruka-sensei would automatically fail anyone caught cheating?" On the boy's nod, she shook her head. "Not here. Everyone starts off with ten points. Lose all ten and you, and your team, all fail."

"Ouch," the blond winced, getting a nod.

"Yes. It is an intentionally high-pressure situation, all engineered by the proctors—specifically Morino Ibiki, the person administering the test and head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation unit. He's actually a jonin."

Naruto blinked. "How do you know...? I mean, aside from, you know..."

Hinata grinned. "I'm from a large, important family. We learn the names and identifying characteristics of everyone of note pretty much as soon as we enter the academy. Department heads are among those, along with clan heads and council members."

"That seems kind of unfair," the blond pouted, to which the girl giggled and nodded.

"It is. But getting back on track—the purpose of the test is to weed out those without the ability to gather intelligence."

"Well, I'm screwed," the blond huffed. "I suck at spying."

Hinata's grin and shake of the head caught his attention. "Actually, I think you did the best." On his questioning look, she elaborated. "You didn't realize the purpose of the test and the first time, I almost got us both disqualified trying to help—but you refused, because you figured out that the examiners were paying particularly close attention to you. You failed phase three, but it didn't matter because phase four made up for it—the do-or-die scenario. The whole hour we sat there, the chuunin were constantly increasing the pressure on us—it was barely noticeable, at first, but once you know what to look for it was easy to spot."

"What, like killing intent?" It was something the boy was now intimately familiar with, thanks to Zabuza and Haku.

"Mhmm," the girl confirmed. "Basically, the point of the fourth question is to make you realize you've got teammates for a reason. If you can't spy well, then someone else on your team may be able to—but none of that matters, if you wouldn't even show up for the mission to begin with or gave up halfway through when you ran into problems. Phase four, the tenth question, forces you to choose between the possibility of failure and never being promoted or walking away—which means certain failure, in this case."

The blond nodded. "Right, so, show up, do your job, keep your mouth shut, and support your team?"

"Pretty much," Hinata allowed. Then she grinned. "You apparently didn't agree with what Ibiki had to say."

"Damn right I don't," he grunted, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring down at his ramen. When he looked back up, he found a smile facing him that mirrored one of his own.

"So, beat him at his own game."

Blinking, Naruto asked, "How do—did—I do that?"

Hinata smiled a little wider. "You'll figure it out." Seeing the blond roll his eyes, she continued. "The second part of the exam is, as far as I can tell, broken into two phases. The first is search-and-retrieve-and-survive. Except this SAR mission is in the forest of death." Seeing he didn't know what she was talking about, she elaborated. "It's a large, overgrown chuunin-and-up training field. The largest in Konoha, actually. Everything there is either toxic, predatory, or food for something that is—including the genin. Think leeches the size of dogs, spiders the size of cats, tigers the size of carts, and vines that move on their own. It was not fun—and my team only spent two days there. At the center of the forest is a tower. We have five days to make it from the starting gate to the tower—except it's an elimination round poorly disguised as a SAR mission. You'll be given either a heaven or earth scroll and you'll have to hunt down the other half of the pair. Do not open the scrolls until you reach the tower. I cannot stress this enough. They're two halves to a summoning scroll that summons a chuunin—and if you do it outside the tower, you lose."

"Right, don't open the scrolls," the boy nodded—long since having accepted what she was saying at face value, as it seemed far too detailed to have been made up and Hinata—even before today—didn't seem like the type to do something like that.

"Take the scrolls to the tower and open them, where you will be escorted inside by a chuunin. There, if you make it early enough, you'll have a couple of days to rest before the preliminary matches. Somehow, your team always manages to make it in last, on the sixth day just before the Hokage calls an end to the scroll phase of the second stage." On the boy's curious look, she shrugged. "I'm still not sure why, but you always come in beaten and covered in dirt. The Uchiha is injured somehow, Haruno's hair has been cut and her face looks to have made contact with a fist or two, and you... you look like something the cat dragged in."

Scrunching his nose, the blond asked, "If it's not too big a deal, could you...?"

"Find out what happens? I can try," the girl allowed, smiling. "Unfortunately, Kiba and Shino will want to head to the tower as soon as possible, and I'm not sure how I will convince them to follow."

The boy shrugged. "Eh, you could always send a clone." Seeing the girl's confused look, the blond grinned ear to ear and sealed, creating a perfect copy of himself, who waved before popping out of existence."

Hinata double-blinked. "You made a few of those in your fight with Kiba... So, they are solid?"

The blond nodded. "Better than that. I remember whatever they see when they pop."

Taking a moment to roll that thought around in her head, Hinata asked, "And you haven't been using it for training?"

"Eh?"

"Well, at the very least they could remember whatever they've read, right?" she asked, earning a shrug.

"It doesn't help as much as you'd think," the blond answered before elaborating. "Sure, they remember what they see or read, but it's not like there are jutsu scrolls just laying around all over the place—not even in the library. Believe me, I've looked." He had, repeatedly, under henge and using clones to comb every inch of the building that was publicly available and some sections that weren't—and while he had found plenty of things that had caught his interest, none of it had been deemed useful enough to bother with since it didn't pertain to training or jutsu.

With a nod and a hum, she asked, "What about for chakra control exercises? Tree climbing, water walking, that sort of thing?"

Scratching the back of his head, the blond grinned. "Never tried it. Maybe I'll ask Kakashi-sensei when I get a chance. No idea how to walk on water, though."

With a glance at her watch, Hinata nodded and stood. "We've got an hour before the test. Go get dressed and we'll find somewhere to practice."

"Wait, you mean you'll teach me!?" the blond asked, going wide-eyed.

"Why wouldn't I?" the girl asked, sending him a smile. "Besides, you'll teach me kage bunshin, right?"

"You bet!" he grinned, making a mad dash for his bedroom and the clothes therein.

* * *

_'Today was a good day,'_ Hinata mused, laying awake on her bed and thinking the day over. The exam had made a believer of her Naruto-kun—though she suspected he'd believed her halfway into her explanation. After the exam, they had gone to Ichiraku's for a meal before heading out to a training field to practice—him, the water walking exercise she had shown him that morning and herself the clone technique he had been perfectly willing to part with. While he initially had a hard time with it, the blond had been fighting copies of himself atop the water by the time the sun set—with fewer and fewer slips between them as they progressed. This had seemed odd to the girl because, during his fight with Kiba, he had barely managed a handful of clones and hadn't displayed nearly the level of chakra control he was at at the moment—which was pathetic, worse even than most academy students, but it had been somehow worse during his fight with her teammate. That fact worried her, as whatever they had encountered in the forest had either taxed the seemingly-inexhaustible blond to the point of exhaustion or had damaged him in some way that was not visible to the naked eye. As for herself—well, _one _clone was still a success. It would cut her reserves in half, but then her team wouldn't be doing anything too strenuous anyway—and besides, Kiba had a couple of soldier pills squirreled away if worse came to worst.

They had shared their third meal of the day together that night—thankfully, something other than ramen. Hinata liked it well enough, but it could get boring if eaten every meal. Finding somewhere to eat was surprisingly easy—at least, so Naruto said. She had simply lead them into a nice stand and taken a seat. No one had dared object to the 'Hyuuga princess' sharing a meal with the 'demon brat,' at least not aloud. Her family name had its uses, on occasion. Hinata almost, but not quite, considered it a date—as, for it to be a date, the other party had to be aware of that fact.

Tomorrow, she would make sure to place her team near Naruto's gate before dropping a clone once inside the training field. From there, her team would go about their routine while the clone did her best to follow Team Seven without drawing too much attention. After that, it was back to the same old routine unless she could somehow convince Kiba and Shino to aid Team Seven, which was unlikely at best. And then, she would get to face Neji again. She had no doubt that a single physical clone would be all but useless in that fight, but that didn't really matter because she could go back further now. She had all the time in the world to close the gap between them, and she planned to use it.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **There have been a few good groundhog-day type fanfics floating around for a couple of years now, Chunin Exam Day and Time Braid come to mind. I thought I'd try my own hand at it. If you see something familiar and/or recognizable, I would not be surprised. I would like to give credit where it's due, but it would likely be due so many sources I could never track them all down.

Why Hinata? I've been on a Hinata-as-a-main-character kick lately. I'm either going to write or will issue a challenge for ninja dropped into a real-world setting, using her as a focus. Basically, I got tired of seeing 'ninja highschool' stories and asked myself "Okay, they're ninja. How would this _really_ happen?" and that idea grew from there. There would have to be rules, obviously: no obvious shenanigans in view of the public ala Harry Potter's Statute of Secrecy, no kaiju-class summons used where they could be observed, they would obviously make use of modern technology and military hardware (guns, vehicles, computers, and so on), they would likely become more insular and not open ninja academies/schools nor would they congregate in villages but would tend to settle vaguely in one area geographically (parts of Japan, specifically districts in Tokyo, would be home to various aligned forces [Konoha] and families, most of the Sahara would belong to what passes for Suna, and so forth), techniques would be passed down more within families with a few exceptions (the Sannin, for instance, and in Hinata's case Anko, and there's a whole backstory there to explain their situation), and so on. My only real hang-up was whether or not to set it in some sort of universe where worlds collide (a world full of magical girls, martial artists, giant mecha, wizards, ninja, and suchlike) or something closer to reality. If you're reading this and you're interested, it's up for grabs, just PM me for details. I don't exactly have everything written down, but I could get something together.

Formatting note: if you see issues where an _italicized_ word is crammed up against a _normal_word, or the same for a thought or other phrase in italics or bold (had to fix the author's notes tag too), it's because this interface somehow ate my spaces. It doesn't see span tags properly, apparently, and disregards the space immediately following a close-span sometimes, for whatever reason. I've gone back over it to correct this mistake, but don't be surprised or upset if I missed a few.

"But Jonque," you say, "there already IS a character in the Naruto-verse that does something similar to what you're doing with Hinata." And you would be correct.

Exam time-line: Day one, written exam. Day two, survival exam start, T-5 days until exam end. Day three, loop start. Day seven, five day time limit ends at noon, loop 'resets' shortly thereafter. Total time elapsed in-loop: four and a half days.

I blame this story on Final Fantasy 13-2, and one too many time-travel/loop stories. There was an overarching concept of the game that I thought could apply, so I ran with it. It's also why I refuse to speak further about the (semi)canon character I'm blatantly lifting this from. I didn't see why it couldn't be done, so I did it.

TMH Status: on the back burner, but still simmering. Three-quarters of the way through the next chapter, but it's sat like that for a year. I've only just gotten time and interest again. Update likely by Christmas, 2012.


	2. 0100

**The Life and Times**

* * *

_Orochimaru._

Well, at least she had a name now. Even if it was the name of one of the Sannin—the worst kind of name to run across in an exam full of people barely into their teens, but a name nonetheless. Unfortunately, that name did neither herself nor Naruto any real good—and likely at the expense of drawing the Sannin's notice herself. Thankfully, Neji reset things for her and she wouldn't have to deal with it. Apparently, the Sannin had taken an interest in the Uchiha and had sought Team Seven out shortly into the first day—and leaving both the Uchiha and Naruto disabled, somehow. The Uchiha, she could care less about. Naruto, on the other hand... well, she would be finding a counter to that five-pointed seal as soon as possible. Or rather, she would have Naruto have a clone find out—she wanted as much advance warning as possible, in the event that Kakashi or whoever Naruto asked didn't take kindly to asking about seals that could potentially seal a jinchuuriki off from his prisoner and ways of countering them. It was a bit heartless, yes, but if it gave her time to slit her own throat and undo it as opposed to being locked in T&I and having the key thrown away, then it was worth it.

A month—that's how far she had come back this time. With a month to practice, she may just be able to pull something off and finally wipe that damning look off of Neji's face. Of course, the first thing she had done when she'd woken up had been to befriend Naruto the same way she had the first time—this time, minus the whole time-traveler conversation. She supposed she would take him up on his suggestion and save it for the exam. It would be amusing, being the only one with any clue what was really going on and pointing it out to everyone else.

Her days lately had come down to a simple schedule: eat breakfast with Naruto, a mission and practice—though Kurenai was steadily pulling back off the missions in preparation for the exam—with her team, then meeting up with Naruto on a disused training ground for shared practice, then the pair of them would share their evening meal together before heading for home. Somewhat surprisingly, the hostility typically directed at the blond by the rest of the village had dropped to nearly non-existent within the first week of the two of them being seen together—apparently, the village had adopted a wait-and-see approach for the time being. That was fine by her, because she really didn't feel like having to set fire to their homes and places of business, then having to get herself dead just to avoid the consequences. It was an amusing thought, and she may wind up doing it one day, but not any time soon.

While Hinata was spending her time either training or with Naruto, her solitary clone spent its time alternating between studying her cousin and planning. Unless she went back further, Neji would remain physically stronger... but that mattered little to a gentle fist user, compared to speed, precision, and chakra control. So, that was what she drilled from the time her team dismissed for the day until she took supper with Naruto, then she went back to the training field to practice for several more hours every night. By the end of the first week, it was visibly taking its toll, but it was also beginning to pay off. Naruto, however, noticed. Either he had followed her one night, or he'd had a hunch, or just had a sudden urge to train after-hours—she did not know. She supposed she could have asked, but she was relieved to have the help, to be honest. So it was, on the tenth day of her month back, she found herself telling him her story that night while the pair of them fought over the top of the training field's pond.

The blond was skeptical, and it bothered her—he had been so easy to convince last time. Then again, this time there was no immediately verifiable proof until the exam. She had almost given up on convincing him, until she finally asked the question she had been holding in reserve for some time now. "Is it really any less believable than a monster of a fox being sealed into a boy as a child, and that boy growing up unloved instead of the hero he should have been treated as?" It had made things awkward, at first. And then he'd come back the next day and apologized, when he realized what she had actually said and the fact that she had apparently known and was okay with his secret. Things got better. Kisses were exchanged. It was... nice.

It had taken some doing, but in the end she felt it was worth it. Shunshin—her new trump card. Getting the technique out of Kurenai had been like pulling teeth, but with a quick series of short resets, she had figured out which buttons to press to get the woman to come up with it. It had involved guilting Kurenai into admitting just how screwed Hinata was if Neji made it into the finals, convincing her just how much it would rub her father's face in it for disregarding her this whole time, and finding some really good rare-vintage sake. Needless to say, Hinata was poorer several thousand ryo and richer one technique by the end of the twentieth day—until she reset to the morning of the twentieth day and went right back to practicing. Honestly, it was becoming disturbing how easy resetting herself was becoming—she didn't even really consider it 'suicide' any more, as it wasn't permanent.

Ten days to develop a counter to one of the most powerful jyuuken techniques in existence, with only a single clone and a stamina-monster quasi-boyfriend with a less-than-genin level of taijutsu as a live-fire practice dummy—impossible for some but completely doable when one has proper motivation, that being literally do-or-die. Neji was surprised—perhaps even upset—when she simply danced out of range of his attack the first time. By the third, he was downright furious. And then, she'd gotten serious. Kunai came out again and a clone popping into being was the only warning he'd gotten before they'd taken a page from Kiba's book with hit-and-run tactics, darting in with shunshin to tag him and popping back out again either with that same technique or quick application of a kawarimi when it looked like he would actually hit one of them. However, despite being caught unprepared for the assault, Neji was not left off-balance for long. Hinata found out the hard way that the sixty-four palms technique was hardly the only thing he'd managed to reverse engineer. Running face-first into a kaiten mid-shunshin had not been fun, and only the sacrifice of her clone had kept her alive for another minute. By then, the combined techniques had taken their toll and he was on her—and it was over faster than it had begun.

* * *

"That thieving bastard," the girl groaned into her pillow before hurling it across her room and rolling out of bed. Had anyone heard her, they would have likely fainted in shock—prim and proper Hyuuga Hinata, princess of the Hyuuga, could curse. Of course, that unlucky individual would have likely self-immolated soon thereafter, had he or she caught wind of the litany of swears that followed under her breath to her bathroom, casting aspersions on her cousin, her family, the exam and its proctors, and especially the Hokage. Scrubbing down and dousing herself, she quickly slipped into the bath and sat glaring at the water until her fingers pruned. The sun had nearly risen by the time she had dressed and left for breakfast and befriending-day with Naruto. She paid little attention to the crowd clearing around her, the civilians cowed into silence in her wake at the concentrated psychic malice rolling off her in waves.

Ramen, tea, and cinnamon buns in hand, Hinata made her way up to Naruto's apartment. One clone and several moments of unlocking the blond's door from the inside later, she let herself in and set out breakfast, then set about waking the blond—with the clone—while she herself set about starting in on her cinnamon bun. Needless to say, Naruto was a little shocked. "Erm, not that I'm turning down free food Hinata-...chan?" On the girl's encouraging nod and small smile, he continued. "But what are you doing here?"

"Blowing off steam," the girl answered simply. "And being around you helps." On the boy's confused look, she glanced to her clone and blinked before humming as she figured out what was amiss. "Right, do the thing."

"Shouldn't you do the thing?" the clone asked, arms crossing under her breasts and sending a disapproving look at her creator.

Naruto watched as the girl stuck her tongue out at the clone, then grinned. "So, where'd you learn kage bunshin?" he asked, taking the only seat available and digging into his ramen.

"You, actually," the original Hinata answered. Seeing him about to ask something, she interrupted. "Chew, swallow, then speak."

The blond blushed before doing as he was told. "So, you what, just watched me do it a lot and figured it out?" He blinked, then asked, "But I never saw you doing it."

"No. Well, yes and no." Seeing his confused look, she elaborated. "Yes, I've watched you a lot. No, I didn't steal the technique from you. You taught it to me."

The blond scratched his head. "I don't remember doing that."

"You wouldn't," the clone answered, before frowning as she took in the calendar she'd found herself standing before. "Is this date accurate?"

"Eh?" the blond asked, turning to regard the clone. "Yeah, that's today. Why?" He was more confused when the girl in front of him began counting off fingers and mumbling quietly.

"Wave day?" she asked the clone, getting a nod in answer. "Wave day. Sorry, Naruto-kun. We're going to have to cut this short—I forgot today was the day."

Blinking, he asked, "What day? What's 'Wave day?'"

Hinata and clone smiled. "Today is the day of your first extra-village mission. You get to escort a drunk old man to the nation of Wave to our southeast, take on a mad-dog serial killer of a missing-nin and his apprentice, defeat a corrupt shipping mogul and his army of mercenaries, and liberate that same island nation from the corrupt individual in question."

"Wait. What."

The smile they sent in return was mildly disturbing, doubly-so seeing it mirrored. He made a note to try to pull off the same effect at some point—it was like the harem jutsu, only... creepy, instead of an anti-pervert weapon. "Well, you see, it's like this..." It was much easier to convince the blond she wasn't mad if she could point to immediately verifiable proof, after all—easier still if she bypassed any skepticism by refusing to answer how she knew what she knew until _after_ proving her point, repeatedly if she had to.

* * *

Special Jonin Mitarashi Anko blinked as a small, dark-haired girl found her at her favorite table of her favorite eatery, and sat down opposite her. She was shocked into unmoving silence when the girl smiled and promptly stole one of the skewers of dango right off her plate before taking a bite of one of the dumplings thereon. She opened her mouth to point out that she preferred to have breakfast alone, only to stop as the girl lifted the small pot of tea the waiter had left at Anko's table and poured herself a cup. Anko's eyebrow twitched and she opened her mouth to start again, but the girl beat her to the punch.

"Say you wanted to humiliate a particularly fatalistically annoying Hyuuga in a public exhibition match—the upcoming chuunin exam, for example. How would you go about doing it?" the girl asked, before finishing the first dango and starting in on the next.

Anko blinked, and finally internal IFF identified the girl as one of Kurenai's students—the _quiet_ one. _'It's always the quiet ones,'_ she mused, turning a critical eye on the girl. She still wore the same jacket, but it was unzipped, leaving her assets on display—either intentionally, or the girl had simply ceased to care since the last time Anko had seen her. The second option seemed almost impossible, being that the quiet Hyuuga had struck her as a bit of a wallflower at first blush. Her hair was still in the same cut, but had been brushed back away from her eyes, exposing more of her face as opposed to framing and hiding it. Most tellingly, either the girl was absurdly weak, or something was off... No, she knew that barely-there feeling, and it shouldn't be possible—at least, not for a genin that wasn't Uzumaki, and she knew he had far too much chakra and likely not enough control to pull this off. _This_ being a shadow clone running on less than ten percent of the user's chakra as opposed to the even fifty-fifty mix of the standard shadow clone. It wasn't a widely discussed technique—sort of a trade secret of those in the intelligence-gathering community, seeing as those few who knew the ins and outs of that particular method of cloning typically used them in battle and it was a rare individual that realized their limits as far as chakra capacity and had the patience and chakra control to experiment and learn how to take chakra back from a shadow clone without dispersing it. The technique for reclaiming that chakra and leaving a barely-there clone was named for the odd feeling they left to chakra sensitive individuals who knew what to look for and didn't simply pass it off as a particularly weak civilian: yuurei bunshin, or the phantom clone. The fact that the girl not only knew kage bunshin but could _ghost_ a clone—_that _was interesting enough to keep her from walking away.

"Stop wasting my food on a clone," the woman finally snorted, stealing her dango skewer back and attacking the last dumpling thereon. Instead of reacting with surprise, the clone grinned.

"Teach me, O wise one," the girl smiled, drawing an eye roll from the special jonin.

Washing her dango down with tea, the woman asked, "What, Kure-chan got her hands full with the other two brats?" Oh, she enjoyed Kurenai's company, certainly—she was one of the few people Anko considered a friend, and on the even shorter list of friends-with-benefits. But her teaching methods left something to be desired, in Anko's mind. She was—

"Kurenai-sensei is a fine instructor, but I feel she is too... soft for what I need, if I am to defeat Neji."

_'Taking the words right out of my mouth,' _the special jonin mentally smirked. "So, what makes you so sure that stick in the mud will even be in the exam." She had heard of Hyuuga Neji—anyone who spent any time in the jonin lounge most of the jonin of their generation favored or anywhere within half a kilometer of Maito Gai had heard of Gai's team.

"Would you believe that I'm a time traveler from the future and have fought and died by Neji's hand no less than a dozen times now?" the clone asked, once more wasting Anko's tea. On the woman's snort, she smiled. "It's pretty simple, really. Gai-sensei will likely enter his team this year, either because he feels they can make it through or to taunt Kakashi-sensei—either is equally likely. Once word spreads that Kakashi-sensei has entered his Team Seven—specifically the Uchiha—in the exam, the other two rookie instructors will be pretty much honor-bound to do the same. That makes twelve genin from Konoha alone, not to mention the other four major ninja villages along with the minor ones. Ignoring average turnouts and simply pulling numbers out of the air, let's say there would be... thirty teams in total. Cut that down less than half, because Naruto-kun will ruin Ibiki-san's exam—"

Hinata did not fail to notice Anko choke on her tea, both at the name-dropping and specifying who would be running the first exam, and simply continued on with her explanation, even if her smile widened somewhat. "That leaves twenty or so teams for your own run through the forest of death." This time, Anko calmly set her tea down and turned her full attention on the clone—meaning this meeting was either about to be met with success, or horrible, horrible failure as Hinata had just identified a potential leak in Konoha's infrastructure, seeing as Anko had only recently learned of her assignment as a proctor for the coming exam.

"By design, half of those teams will lose, but I'll give you more credit and say only eight make it through—the rookie Konoha teams plus one random team from Konoha, the Kazekage's children, the Sound team, and one of the Mist teams. That leaves twenty-four genin available for the finals. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, except this year things are a little too heavy on Konoha's side—no one expected all of the rookie teams to make it this far, after all. So, there is a preliminary elimination round. Say Kakashi's estimates of Team Seven's prowess were overconfident or they bit off more than they could chew in your little playground—either way, the Uchiha comes in injured. By some chance of fate, he gets picked for the first round against what looks to be one of the weakest clanless Konoha ninja—because, heavens forbid the Uchiha not make it into the finals on his first attempt at the exam."

Anko snorted. "Right, like that could ever happen. The kami themselves would move heaven and earth to make sure that brat made it in. Go on, I'm still listening." Her sarcasm was laid on thick enough Hinata doubted it could be cut.

"The Kazekage's children will, of course, not face anyone from either their own team or one of the major clans of Konoha, all but ensuring they pass on to the final round," the girl continued, getting a nod. "And of course, that leaves the rest of the Konoha ninja to fight it out amongst themselves, along with the remainder of the Sound team and Mist team. By some quirk of the 'random selection' system, all of the major clans get pitted against someone likely to lose to them, at least in theory. Theory falls apart if we don't know what the Sound team is capable of, so say one of their undesirables makes it through. And then, there's Konoha's most surprising ninja..."

"Uzumaki," the special jonin grinned. "If I had to pick, I'd say—"

"Inuzuka," Hinata spoke, almost overriding the special jonin but not quite—but clear enough that both knew they were thinking along the same lines. "And if you had to guess who would win?"

The woman across from the clone rolled her eyes. "Uzumaki, obviously."

"Not for obvious reasons," Hinata pointed out, drawing a raised eyebrow from Anko, which she returned with a smile. "Yamanaka and Haruno both suck, so let's call that a double-knockout."

"Agreed," Anko nodded. "The hell is wrong with kunoichi these days, fawning over boys and makeup and shit when they should be training? Don't they realize the shit they're in and just how much of a liability they are to their team, if they keep that up? Unless they're all training to be seduction specialists—which I _doubt_."

It was Hinata's turn to snort. "Not hardly. It's the bishonen boys, most likely—Uchiha and Neji. From what I can tell, I was the only female not interested in the Uchiha within three age groups and Neji's teammate is the only one even remotely resistant to whatever _charms _my cousin has, and that only through exposure to what passes for his personality."

"Mass genjutsu?" Anko hummed, sharing a smile with the genin across from her.

"Something in the water supply," Hinata countered.

Shrugging, Anko brought the conversation around to the point. "And of course, there's the match you've been dancing around this whole time. _Fate _would not allow two Hyuuga into the finals, except under special circumstances."

"Exactly. So, back to my original question: how would you humiliate a moody, effeminate, bishonen Hyuuga prick in front of an audience to the point of driving him to thoughts of suicide?"

Anko blinked. "You don't play around, do you?"

"I do not," was the flat answer she received.

The special jonin hummed. "You know, I always thought you were the quiet, hesitant, adorkable type—not this... _this._And I know you were, at one point. What changed your mind?"

Hinata's smile was still there, but barely. "Would you believe that I'm a time traveler from the future and have fought and died by Neji's hand no less than a dozen times now?"

"No, I'd say you were either deluded or a potential state secret who needed to learn to keep her mouth shut about things like that in public places, lest she wind up in a comfortable room under the Hokage tower as a backup plan/message in a bottle in the event something went horribly, horribly wrong. Now, if you said you had simply seen how stupid your peers were and logiced out the most likely scenario for the coming exam—that, I might believe."

"As it happens, I _have _seen the error of my peers and did in fact logic out what will likely take place in the chuunin exam. Nothing untoward going on here, at all. I am but a simple genin, seeking guidance," the girl confirmed.

Anko nodded. "Good, because I'd hate to have to report something silly like that cockamamie time-travel story and have the Hokage take it seriously. After all, being locked up below T&I would certainly make it harder to teach you how to forcibly dislodge sticks from certain Hyuuga asses." Seeing the girl's widening eyes, Anko allowed herself a smile—wide, slow, predatory, and entirely too reminiscent to a certain blond for almost anyone's comfort.

* * *

Whether she believed Hinata's cockamamie time-travel story or she simply enjoyed the idea of seeing the look on a Hyuuga's face when the stick was dislodged from his ass, Anko was true to her word. Of course, after a week with Anko, Hinata was almost ready to undo everything she'd done with the special jonin just to get away from the sadist for a few days. The woman was a slave driver. In the month leading up to Naruto's return, Hinata spent more time with the special jonin than she did her team or her bed. Sleep became a precious commodity—made even more scarce by the fact that Anko insisted she follow her out to the bar whenever the mood stuck, which it did almost every night. Hinata had never thought that clan-driven alcohol tolerance lessons would ever be put to use, as she had no desire whatsoever to drink herself stupid. Anko had other plans—most of which involved sake, dango, tea, or lots of pointy-stabby sharp things. Little did Hinata know that the woman had taken her request seriously, and this was simply Anko's way of introducing her to her few friends and various acquaintances, in the event that any of them wanted to share a pointer or two with the little Hyuuga that was so patently different from the rest of her clan—normal, almost. Well, _ninja_-normal.

It was on one such night that Hinata finally broached a topic she'd been avoiding for at least a week, but could no longer put off. A quick activation and release of her dojutsu ensured they were being paid less attention than the waitresses or the music, and had the benefit of drawing Anko's attention. On the woman's wordless question, Hinata smiled. "Remember that thing I probably shouldn't talk about?"

"Nope," Anko deadpanned, sipping her sake and shifting in her booth seat to get more comfortable. _'This should be good.'_

Hinata's smile widened, a little. "Good. As long as you're feeling forgetful... Naruto-kun's team is due in from Wave tomorrow."

Anko blinked. "And?" she asked, now having a fairly good idea where this was going. She didn't bother asking how the girl knew Kakashi's team would be back today when no one else had so much as heard word from the cycloptic jonin since he'd stepped outside the gates—she already had her explanation and all that remained was to see whether or not the girl's story was accurate and not simply the delusional ramblings of a mad child. Her smile was entirely fox-like as she cut straight to what the girl was likely after. "If you want the day off to go shag the blond loudmouth silly, I'm not going to complain—well, as long as it's just one day. After that, you're going to have to share or something if you plan to make a habit of it."

Hinata choked on her sake, trying desperately and almost failing to keep from resetting herself. "You timed that on purpose," she accused, drawing a nod from the woman in question. "I wasn't planning to, as you put it, shag him silly—but now that you mention it, I just might. As for sharing... Why should I?"

Anko shrugged. "Payment for services rendered?"

Hinata smirked. "Only if services are considered rendered when Neji is licking the dirt off my sandals."

"Kinky. It's always the quiet ones," Anko hummed. "So, it's a deal then?"

This time, Hinata blinked, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized the special jonin across from her. "You're... entirely serious, aren't you? But I haven't even..." On the woman's shrug, Hinata rolled her eyes.

"What? He looks like a younger Yondie," Anko defended, drawing a chuckle from her student.

"You need to get laid more," the girl accused, shaking her head.

The special jonin nodded in agreement. "Oh, definitely. If your usual sensei would ditch that cigarette smoking lazy-ass and start putting out again, it wouldn't be an issue."

Hinata paused, drink halfway to her lips slowly descending back to the table. "You... and Kurenai-sensei?"

"Oh yes," Anko's grin was entirely too wide for Hinata's comfort. "And why not? Have you _seen _her? Kurenai is hot—and she does this thing with her tongue—"

"Not in my need-to-know category!" the younger of the pair spluttered. "Please, I would like to get out of this... _thing_ with at least one small shred of my innocence left intact. _Unmolested_."

"Fat chance of that," Anko denied. "The things I could tell you about your sensei and the things she says when she gets a little alcohol in her..." she paused, then shrugged, the threat hanging there plain as day. "So, about that deal..."

Finally, after several minutes of silent contemplation, Hinata shrugged. "I'll... ask." Anko perked up across from her. "It's up to him."

"That's fine," Anko allowed. "After all, what guy would turn down a threesome with two hot kunoichi?"

"Wha—what. Threesome?" the younger of the pair deadpanned, drawing a leer from the woman across from her. "Nope! I'm going home!"

Anko snorted. "The hell you are, brat," she denied, legs shooting out and locking the Hyuuga girl in place. "Now, tell me more about these delusions of yours. Anything I shouldn't know about why, exactly, Kakashi and his brats have been on nearly a month-long information blackout?"

Huffing a sigh, Hinata sipped at the drink Anko had poured her some time ago. "There might have been an incident." On the special jonin's raised eyebrow, she continued. "Well, Team Seven might have gotten lost on the road to Wave and bit off more than they could chew."

"I've heard that phrasing before," Anko hummed, drawing a smile and a nod from the girl across from her.

"They _might_have run across a scary mist demon—one of seven, really."

"Oh?" That had her interested—alluding to the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was naming some pretty big names in the ninja world, all of them S-ranked. But the wording, again—always with the wording, with this girl. "Momochi?"

Hinata simply grinned. "Also, there was the cross-dressing apprentice with his-or-her mirror-field-of-pointy-doom."

Anko blinked. Obviously a bloodline user of some sort, then. "Sounds scary."

"Not quite deadly," Hinata allowed. "Of course, the Uchiha probably pissed himself—or nearly so. It was probably almost enough to put him on even ground with the cross-dresser." Meaning he'd activated his Sharingan, Anko interpreted. "And then he died." On the elder kunoichi's raised brow, Hinata smiled. "Well, he got better after. Naruto-kun thought he died. It... did not go over well for cross-dresser-chan, from what I've heard." Hinata blinked, before asking, "On a related note, how would one disable a five-point elemental seal meant to... put certain foxes to sleep?"

"That is awfully specific," Anko deadpanned, her mind momentarily shuddering to a halt at the implications of where such a seal would have come from. She had only seen one person use it before, after all. "I'm guessing there's another delusion to explain it?"

"Mm," Hinata nodded. "I'll tell you before the exam, but I'm going to need the counter going in."

Anko sighed, palming her face and taking a pull of sake straight from the jar. "You worry me, when you say things like that."

Hinata's flat, serious tone did little to improve the mood when she murmured, "You of all people _should _worry."

Seeing the girl didn't seem to be willing to elaborate, Anko snorted and nudged her shin with a foot to get her attention. "Well, carry on. In this dream world of yours, what happens after your brave knight rides in on a fiery steed to save the day?"

"The misguided apprentice dies needlessly and the demon learns he has a heart after all and kills his evil master. Our intrepid hero, plus three, come home to little fanfare and a strange, deluded girl drags our hero off to shag him silly because she's sick of worrying."

Blinking, Anko asked, "I thought you said you've read this fairy tale before and the hero always makes it out safe. Why would you worry this time?"

"If the hero already has an idea of how the story will unfold, will it still turn out the same way?"

"You didn't," Anko accused, getting a wince from her pupil. "Of all the _irresponsible_—"

Hinata nodded. "I know that, now. I take full responsibility for it, and if I have to I'll fix it myself."

Rolling her eyes, Anko reached over and swatted her sort-of apprentice. "This is why they lock delusional girls away in cellars and throw away the key." Seeing the girl twitch, Anko snaked out a foot and calmly removed her only visible kunai holster. "Don't even think about it."

"Fine," the girl murmured. "So, can I have tomorrow off?"

The special jonin sighed. "Sure, why not. Now go on, beat it, or it's the cellar for you." When the girl was safely gone, Anko retrieved the stolen holster and put it in the seat beside her before going back to her sake. _'How did I get saddled with the one student apparently more dangerous than Uzumaki? ...Oh, wait, she came to me. Fuck my life.'_

* * *

The morning of Naruto's return from Wave found Hinata getting up earlier than usual—well, usual for coming off a night out with Anko, which really meant around nine as opposed to six sharp. Out of bed and into the bathroom, then back to her room for a clean set of clothes, then out the house—Hinata paused as a familiar voice called her name a second time. It was male, for sure, but she hadn't heard it in months of _real-time_ not including time spent repeating segments of the exam and so almost didn't recognize it. Turning around, she sent an inquisitive look to her father, of all people. _'Oh for fu—he outright ignores me for months, but I spend a month training with Anko and suddenly I'm on his shit list? This does not bode well,' _the girl mused, keeping a straight face.

Hiashi, growing tired of waiting to be verbally acknowledged—which, from his eldest daughter, had never failed to happen even if that acknowledgment had always been almost too quiet to hear—came to his point for stopping her in the hallway. "You have been negligent of your study of the family art, of late. Hanabi is waiting in the practice hall." With that, he turned and made his way through the house towards the hall in question—clearly expecting her to follow. He grew irritated when, an hour later, his eldest daughter had still failed to show up.

"Father?" Hanabi asked from her place at his side, curious as to what could cause her normally expressionless father's jaw to clench so. Whatever it was had to deal with Hinata—but what could her placid elder sister have _possibly _done to upset him?

And elsewhere, Hinata yawned as she watched the clouds go by above. Below her, the chuunin guards on duty at the gate ignored her presence—if a Konoha genin wanted to cloud-watch from the gate, who were they to question it? ...Even if that act was typically reserved for lazy Nara. Of course, this wasn't a lazy Nara, this was a Hyuuga—and not just any Hyuuga, but the so-called Hyuuga princess of all people... The chakra-sensitive of the pair of guards twitched again as Hinata's bloodline activated, scanned outwards, and deactivated for the fifth time in the last hour. Unable to stand it any more, Izumo allowed his curiosity to get the better of him. "Just what are you hoping to see from up there?"

"Orange," was the one-word reply.

"Orange?" the pair mouthed. The girl above them sitting up and tensing into a coil for a leap drew their attention upwards, then outwards to... "Orange," Kotetsu deadpanned, spotting an orange-clad blond, plus five inbound. "Wait, if that's Team Seven, who's that with them?"

"Momochi Zabuza, plus apprentice," Hinata answered simply, causing the pair below to pale. "If they were under duress, I'd have told you by now," she pointed out, causing them to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Scratching his head, the taller of the two grinned. "Yeah, uh, thanks for the heads up I guess?" He blinked at the girl's silence as Team Seven drew into speaking distance—and then she pounced.

A black and purple blur hit the ground between Team Seven and the gate, bounced twice, and came to an abrupt stop only after slamming into the orange-clad blond like a low-speed jutsu. "Welcome back, Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted, even as she registered Kakashi relaxing from combat-readiness nearby to grin down at the pair, the Uchiha frowning, the eyebrowless wonder raising what passed for an eyebrow, and the cross-dresser releasing his—no, her—hold over the icy senbon that had dropped into her hand, and Haruno... screeching her favorite blond's name like a banshee and pulling back a fist. Well, that wouldn't do. Step left, pull blond's arm, twist, and the harpy misses by a kilometer and eats dirt for her trouble—poetry in motion, if she didn't say so herself. "So, how was your mission?" Nothing amiss here.

"Eh," the blond chuckled, rubbing at his head and eying his pink-haired teammate warily as she pulled herself from the ground. "Everything turned out better than expected."

Zabuza snorted. "Says you, brat. I lost my pay day, thanks to you."

"Oi! There was never going to _be_a payday, you eyebrowless freak!" the brat in question retorted.

"Semantics," the missing-nin fired back. "It's the point of the thing."

Sighing, Kakashi pulled out his orange book and promptly buried his nose in it, but not without a parting shot at the blond. "Naruto, what have I told you about antagonizing large, scary men with swords bigger than you are?"

The blond blinked. "Do it often?"

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't it," Kakashi smiled before turning his attention to the guards. "Team Seven, plus two reporting in. We'll be at the tower for debrief in twenty."

Hinata watched as Izumo waved them through while Kotetsu called ahead on the village's secure phone line, ignoring the pinkette silently fuming across from her and occasionally shooting covetous glances between herself and the Uchiha—obviously wishing the Uchiha could stand her long enough to allow her to do the same. Hinata snorted quietly—Haruno's delusion likely wouldn't end any time soon, even if the Uchiha eventually revealed himself to be the self-centered, sexless _thing _he was. It was a frequent topic of debate between herself and Anko during after-hours time—what, exactly, it would take to break the fangirls of their collective insanity/brainwashing. So far, Anko was hedging her bets on full out bishonen-on-bishonen action between the Uchiha and Hyuuga pricks in the middle of town, during lunch hour—Hinata would have agreed, except she had been around for too many conversations amongst the girls her age discussing just that more than once. Apparently, the fangirls liked their yaoi—so long as the action had some chance of potentially including them.

Humming in thought—at least, making an attempt to appear to be doing so—Hinata turned her smile on the one-eyed wonder. "Kakashi-sensei, it's okay if Naruto sends a clone, right?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Mah, we shouldn't need anything more than that. Why, trying to get my student to yourself?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows and waving his orange book in their general direction.

"Yes," Hinata deadpanned and proceeded to pull the blond away, leaving behind a stunned Sakura, indifferent Uchiha, grinning missing-nin, blushing apprentice, and one blinking cycloptic jonin. They were around a corner and out of sight before wits were properly gathered and by the time a Naruto-clone rejoined them and Sakura thought to look around the corner after them, the pair was long gone.

"Sensei?" Sakura started, the hesitation plain for all to hear. "What... was that?"

"If I had to guess?" Kakashi asked, drawing a nod from the girl in question. "Looked like Anko's handiwork." On his students' confused looks, he smiled. "You'll probably run into her at some point. Now, come on, we've got a debriefing to get to."

Sasuke paused before asking, "Kakashi, can I leave a clone?"

"I don't know, can you?" the jonin asked, grinning under his mask.

"Show me how," the Uchiha deadpanned.

"Nope."

"Hn," the Uchiha refrained from rolling his eyes. "Naru—"

"Not a chance," Naruto grinned. "Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

The Uchiha in question narrowed his eyes. "What, exactly, does that mean dobe? If you can do it—"

Behind them, Zabuza snorted. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Ignoring the boy's glare, he rolled his eyes. "Of all the bunshin types, kage bunshin requires the most chakra. Half of the user's chakra for every clone, typically, unless you figure out how to ghost clones. Only ever seen it done once, though."

"'Ghost clones?'" Sakura repeated, confused.

"Under-power a shadow clone almost to the point of collapse, _after _it's been created," Kakashi clarified. "Naruto doesn't know how to do it—doesn't need to. It's kind of a special-use thing, really to take advantage of the way kage bunshin retain information."

Sakura hummed, before pointing out the obvious. "But sensei, the technique can't use that much chakra—Naruto throws them out a dozen at a time. I think I've seen more than thirty active at once."

Kakashi nodded, causing the girl and the Uchiha beside her to frown. What he told them next, however, nearly caused them to stumble. "I can only throw six, maybe seven of those out at a time and still have enough chakra left to fight. How about you?" he asked, directing the question towards the unarmed swordsman.

Zabuza shrugged. "Never had a use for shadow clones. I can make about five water clones for every shadow clone you can make, and you and I are fairly evenly matched for chakra capacity."

The pair of genin blinked, before Sakura glanced at Naruto before asking, "Sensei, are you saying Naruto is stronger than you?"

Shrugging, Kakashi buried his nose in his book again. "Strength is a relative term. In terms of skill and experience, absolutely not. But—"

"To put it bluntly," Zabuza interrupted, "that loudmouthed brat has more chakra than everyone in this village below jonin level. Combined." One indignant squawk later, he continued. "Of course, having it and using it are two different things. Isn't that right, Kakashi?"

"Hm? Did you say something Gai?" the copy-nin snarked, only to pause and run through that again before scratching his head in embarrassment. "Maa, sorry. Force of habit."

* * *

Naruto woke earlier than usual, finding himself oddly warm and surrounded by a wonderful scent. Closing his eyes, he went back to sleep. When next he woke, sunlight was peeking through the blinds over his balcony window and creeping towards the bed. Something beside him shifted slightly and he became aware of three facts. Firstly, he wasn't wearing any bed clothes—not an entirely foreign concept to the blond, as he occasionally ran out of clean laundry. Secondly, he was not alone in his bed—definitely new, but strangely enough he wasn't feeling the urge to bolt or reach for a weapon. Thirdly, whoever had decided to share his lumpy mattress last night was equally naked and pressed flush to his left side.

A glance downward revealed a head of short, dark hair and pale, flawless skin disappearing under his thin comforter. Naruto blinked as his sleep-addled brain finally processed his current situation and referenced the relevant memory. An ear-to-ear grin spread over his face, even as he blushed what felt like from head-to-toe. Sex, he concluded, was _better than ramen_. He blinked again as a thought occurred—was that what he was supposed to call what they had done? Just calling it 'sex' felt wrong somehow—lacking. Sure, it was an accurate description, but it failed to impart all the rest... Shaking his head, he decided to ponder it another day. _'She said she loved me,'_he mused, full-body blush returning at the thought.

"You woke up before me," a sleepy voice murmured from the vicinity of the blond's chest, followed shortly by a yawn.

"Y-yeah," the boy stuttered, blush gaining a few candle-power of luminescence at the feeling of her soft flesh shifting against his own. "Good morning?" he tried, this time managing to keep his voice steady at least.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," the girl returned, leaning up and planting a kiss on the surprised boy's lips. _'Note to self: figure out how to repeat this as necessary,' _Hinata noted, stretching and loosing another yawn.

Kisses, Naruto realized, were also better than ramen. So was waking up next to... his girlfriend? That was a strange thought. A year ago, she'd been nothing more than an acquaintance and classmate who kept mostly to herself—it was Sakura who had been potential girlfriend material. A month ago, he'd thought of Hinata as nothing more than a particularly odd friend—one he'd like to get to know better, especially if she kept bringing him ramen first thing in the morning. A week ago, he'd idly wondered if she would even notice or care when he got back. Yesterday, she'd met him at the gate on the way in and proceeded to 'rescue' him from his team and their debriefing with the Hokage and they'd spent the day simply wandering the city and talking. Last night...

Once more, the boy blinked as he came to a sudden, disappointing realization. "I have to pee," he whined.

Hinata gave a quiet snort. "Well go, baaaaka. I'm not stopping you."

"But I don't want to get up."

The girl rolled her eyes. "So do I, and neither do I. Go first and make it quick, so I can go next." She paused, glancing at the boy's bedside clock. "And I suppose we should get dressed if we plan to make team meetings today."

"We could skip?" the blond suggested, hopping off the bed and heading for the small bathroom nearby.

"I'd love to," Hinata agreed. "Unfortunately, Anko knows where you live."

The blond went about relieving himself before washing his hands and stepping back out. "Who?"

Hopping up and making to take her turn, Hinata explained on the way. "My other sensei. She's... odd." Anko would, of course, accuse her of being the pot calling the kettle black if that ever got back to her.

Naruto dressed and spent a moment gathering Hinata's own scattered clothing and placing it on his bed—barely flinching at handling her undergarments. Then again, considering she was _still_wandering his apartment in the nude, he doubted he would ever be bothered by ladies' underwear again. "So, ah... what are you doing after your team stuff?" the blond asked, unsure how to proceed as she returned and set about dressing—in full view of her blond lover and with not a hint of a blush visible.

"Hm?" she hummed, pausing to think about it a moment. "Well, Kurenai has been calling it a day pretty regularly recently—usually by four. Our schedule typically goes: meet at oh-nine-hundred and pick up a mission by oh-nine-thirty. Mission time is allotted from then until noon, when we take an hour for team lunch. After that, it's three hours of practice until sixteen-hundred. Lately, I've been meeting with Anko around sixteen-thirty most days and we usually don't quit until around twenty-one hundred unless she feels like hitting a bar."

"Bar?" the blond asked, following as the girl lead him from the apartment and only pausing to leave a clone behind to lock up. "Sounds like a full schedule."

Rolling her eyes, Hinata nodded. "It is, but I need it if I plan to beat Neji. However, if there's one thing I've learned about Anko, it's that she likely won't mind another moving live-fire target. And yes, the bar. The woman drinks like a fish at times—well, I say that, but I've seen worse really. And she refuses to drink alone any more—she says it makes her look like an alcoholic if she does, but if I'm there it's just a drink after practice between master and student, or something like that."

Naruto snorted. "Right. So, you're saying I should come?"

"Definitely," the girl nodded. "Meet me on training field eight around four and we'll go ask. Besides, I've only got a month to get you ready to beat Kiba with something other than luck." A fix for Orochimaru's fox-blocking seal would help in that department, but she didn't want to risk a power-verses-skill battle of attrition between the blond and the Inuzuka.

"Oi," the blond grumbled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hinata smiled. "As it stands Kiba is better than you, Naruto-kun. That isn't an insult, it's just a statement of fact. Team Eight practices more as a team in a week than Team Seven does in a month, I'm guessing?"

Scratching his head, the blond nodded agreement. "Yeah, pretty much. It's kind of funny really, but Kakashi-sensei made this whole big deal out of being a team and all, and then he just sort of sends us on our own after we've done a mission or two in the morning. We're usually done by lunch at the latest."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata sighed, poking the blond in the arm. "Did you ever try to practice without him around, you know... as a team?"

"Eh," the blond had the decency to blush. "A couple of times. Never seemed to work out."

With a nod, the girl made her point. "It wouldn't—it takes more than one person to make a team. Everyone has to have some sort of shared goal, if you plan to actually be any sort of cohesive unit. I'm guessing you tried to convince Sakura to practice with you?" The blond nodded. "And she refused, of course, only to ask the Uchiha to practice with _her_."

Grinning, the blond nodded. "He always goes 'Hn,' and stalks off to practice on his own."

Hinata refrained from pointing out that Naruto could have either asked Sasuke, or suggested they all train together as a group—the boy's pride wouldn't allow him to ask the Uchiha, and Sakura would likely shoot him down unless the Uchiha showed immediate interest, which he likely wouldn't. "And that is Kakashi-sensei's lesson, in a nutshell. Though, to be honest, it's a piss-poor way of going about making the point—I've accused him of laziness, but Anko insists that's what it is and he isn't simply a bad teacher, he's just leaving it up to you to figure it out for yourselves as opposed to spoon-feeding you. I suppose the chuunin exams coming up in a month were to be a wake-up call," she shrugged.

The blond double-blinked. "Wait, what chuunin exams?"

Hinata did likewise before humming in confusion. "I hadn't told you about that yet? I could have sworn..." Sighing, she shook her head. _'I need some way to keep track of what I have and have not done. Something that won't get me thrown in a comfortable room under T&I, that is,' _the girl mused, making a mental note to pump Anko for ideas. "Right. Well. As I said, you've got a month to learn how to beat Kiba—well, assuming everything goes to plan."

"More stuff you shouldn't talk about in public, right?" the blond asked, having gotten the basic explanation and a demonstration right before intentionally picking up the Wave mission on Hinata's guidance.

"Correct," the girl smiled. "And we're here!"

"Eh?" the blond blinked, looking around to find they'd somehow managed to traverse the distance from his apartment to Hinata's favorite bakery and back down the street to Ichiraku's without him having noticed. "Huh."

* * *

Hinata frowned. _'And this day started off so well, too,'_ she mused, glancing down at the clawed hand wrapped around her upper arm as the more brash of her two teammates plus dog invaded her personal space and inhaled. _'That is both disturbing and a little gross. Also, note to self: shower thrice before practice after spending the night with Naruto-kun. That, or find some sort of low-key sinus irritant to spray my jacket with...'_

"Kiba? _What _are you doing?" Kurenai asked, unsure whether she should smack the boy for assaulting Hinata or inform his mother that he was getting a bit too personal with another of her genin. Then again, perhaps she should ask what exactly was drawing the boy's ire, seeing as he was apparently seeing red at the moment.

"Sorry sensei, gonna have to skip practice today. I've got to go murder a _fox_," the boy growled, making to stalk off. In doing so, he failed to note three important facts. Firstly: he had only just released his female teammate's arm and he was still within easy reach of the Hyuuga heiress, and he had apparently just threatened murder on someone she held dear. Secondly: the sudden, violent _absence_of killing intent—or any intent, let alone presence—from the girl behind him. Thirdly: his sensei going wide-eyed and jerking forward to step...

It was lights out for Kiba as the vaguely annoyed look dropped from Hinata's face into something flat and cold. Kurenai had enough time to process the thought of, _'Oh, shit!'_and begin the initial step for a shunshin before Hinata spun on her heel and raised a fist. It was and was not jyuuken—where a typical jyuuken strike was the equivalent of a senbon striking a very precise, very small target, Hinata had opted for a proverbial brick to the particularly wide target of opportunity the back of Kiba's head presented. Tsume's youngest dropped like a sack of potatoes and the girl responsible spared only a moment to glare down at him before digging into one of the pouches at her side.

"Hinata?" Kurenai tried as the girl produced a spool of ninja wire. "What are you planning?"

Hinata smiled. It was not a pleasant smile, Kurenai noted. "I'm sorry, Kurenai-sensei. Kiba-kun and I will not be joining you for practice this morning. Instead, we're going to be training privately—somewhere secluded and far, far away from any chance of interruption... or rescue."

"Uh...huh," the jonin murmured, watching as her favorite student stripped the Inuzuka of his gear while Akamaru whined nearby—the dog clearly unsure whether to come to the aid of his master or flee the sudden threat the sweet girl had apparently become. "And you'll be practicing...?"

"Ah..." the girl hummed in thought a moment before shrugging. "Counter-interrogation techniques. It's going to be a practical lesson," the girl nodded, removing the Inuzuka's sandals and coat before binding his hands, feet, and individual fingers. Kurenai had to give credit where it was due, Hinata was thorough and by-the-book as far as prisoner preparation went. Perhaps she should see about getting her team interested in target retrieval in addition to scouting/recon at some point in the future...

After a moment of thought, the red-eyed jonin sensei asked, "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your... extra-curricular activities of late, would it?"

Hinata blinked. "So, you know about that?" she asked, getting a nod in answer and nodding herself in agreement. "You're a jonin and you're Anko's friend, of course you do. No, this has little-to-nothing to do with my other sensei."

"Then I assume it regards Uzumaki Naruto and Team Seven's return?" Shino put forth, gaining a nod in answer.

Deciding to go for broke, Hinata shrugged. "Naruto-kun and I made love last night," she cut to the chase, drawing a blink from Kurenai and a raised eyebrow behind those dark glasses from Shino. "Not that it's any of Kiba's business. To date, I have politely declined a dozen or more of Kiba's advances in private. I have made it quite clear that I. Am. _Not._ Interested." Finished securing the Inuzuka, she stood and debated whether or not to make a clone for what was to come next. Well, it could wait a moment until she finished her explanation. "I will not stand for being _manhandled_ by someone I considered a comrade and friend, but more than that, I will not tolerate stated attempts to murder the person I love. Kiba-kun needs to be made aware of this, apparently in simpler terms than 'No' or 'bad dog.' He must learn that there will be _consequences_to his behavior if this persists, and as I find myself short of a rolled up newspaper, I'll just have to get creative."

Shooting a glance between the downed Kiba and the girl she'd never seen so visibly angry in her life, Kurenai made a decision. "Shino-kun, practice is canceled for the day. Meet back here tomorrow at the usual time. Hinata-chan, I expect Kiba back here tomorrow at the usual time, with all of his extremities attached and well enough to participate. Understand?"

Hinata's smile was disturbingly beatific. "Yes, sensei," she chirped. An instant later, a clone popped into being and the pair of them hefted Kiba between them and made off for the only training ground Hinata knew would remain undisturbed for the next month—the Forest of Death.

* * *

Inuzuka Kiba's first act upon returning to the waking world was not to attempt to roll over, nor was it to groan or complain. His first act was to attempt and fail to sit up and retch—the sitting up he failed, the throwing up was a success. Waves of dizziness slammed into him and he dry-heaved, having cleared his stomach of any content on the first attempt. Once the third attempt subsided, he was finally able to pull enough sense together to start taking in his surroundings. Currently, he found himself bound to the underside of a wide tree limb a dizzying height off the ground—dizzying mostly due to his vision swimming in and out of focus. Ninja wire dug into his skin painfully and he realized that he was naked—or mostly so, as it felt like he'd been spared that indignity somewhat as someone had left him his boxers. Worryingly, he could hear none of the sounds and smell none of the smells typically associated with Konoha—where ever he was, he was either so deep in a training field or so far outside of Konoha for the two to be indistinguishable. Also, he was alone.

"Concussions suck," a voice chirped from nearby, disabusing him of the notion that he was entirely alone. It was a familiar voice, though he'd never heard it spoken at quite that tone before. "It's not like in manga or on television where someone gets hit in the head and they pass out, only to wake up a few hours later chained to a chair—or tied to the underside of a tree branch thick enough and high enough to convince most ninja not to bother trying to break it while still bound—with a headache, but otherwise okay. If one loses consciousness from blunt force trauma to the head, they typically either wake up within a minute or five or they don't—and they wind up spending a while in a coma, if they wake up at all. Lucky for you, what I hit you with was more jyuuken and less blunt-force. Still insanely dangerous considering the target area, and I have no idea if there will be any lasting effects since I haven't exactly experimented with direct application of chakra to the brain..."

The cheerful tone was completely at odds with the content and it set the hairs on the back of his neck to standing up as he rolled his eyes about his limited field of view until he finally found her—perched atop a branch opposite him on his left side, swinging her legs back and forth. It was Hinata, but it couldn't be—the girl he knew was quiet, shy to a fault, and wouldn't hurt a fly. _This_ person all but radiated quiet malice, even with—no, _especially _with—that small smile in place. "W-what have you done with Hinata?" he rasped, throat raw as he suddenly realized he would kill for glass of water right about now, both to wash the funk from his mouth and to sooth his aching throat.

"Kiba-kun, you took the liberty of invading my personal space and verifying who I was for yourself. I _am_Hinata. As for things being done to me, well, nothing has been done to me that I haven't done myself or wasn't done at my request." She paused a beat, smile widening somewhat into something more approaching bared-teeth than a smile. "Repeatedly."

Kiba blinked as the dots connected. "You. And Uzumaki? That loser?"

"Yes, Uzumaki and I. As to whether or not he's a loser, well, ask yourself this: who, of the two of you, got to make love to the girl you're interested in for the better part of last night and who is it that has found himself tied to a tree in naught but his boxers in an isolated training ground in the middle of Konoha where no one can _possibly _hear you scream?" the girl asked, standing upright on her branch and idly fingering her kunai holster.

"You... uh... you wouldn't—" the Inuzuka started, only to be cut off as the girl nodded.

"You're right, I wouldn't. Until this morning, I had considered you a loyal friend and comrade—if a bit annoying at times. Even just acting like an overprotective teammate would have been tolerable. Threatening to kill the person I love? Not so much, no," she shook her head, smile back in place. "It is not your place to say who I may or may not do what with. Consider this your one and only warning, Kiba-kun. Kurenai-sensei made me promise to have you back by the usual time tomorrow, whole if not unharmed, and we are still going to need you for the chuunin exam in... oh, just under a month. After that, well..." she shrugged.

Kiba rolled his eyes, and immediately regretted it as another wave of nausea struck and he fought down his gag reflex. Finally, he managed to get out, "Still don't believe you'll actually do anything, and when I kick Uzumaki's ass then you can ditch him—"

The girl sighed, hopping from her branch to his to squat down near his head and tilt her own down far enough that her face came into his field of vision. "That's the concussion talking, Kiba-kun. I'm sure Hana-chan and Tsume-san will back me up on this," she grinned, nodding.

"You wouldn't dare!" the boy yelped, going suddenly pale.

A pale hand came down to pat the Inuzuka on the cheek, before Hinata pulled a face and wiped it on the branch. "Oh, Kiba-kun, I already have—though, I suppose it's understandably difficult to figure out when it's almost impossible to tell the difference." Seeing the boy's look, she leaned in and cupped her hand over his ear. _"I'm a clone," _she whispered, causing the boy to go wide-eyed. "The real me is probably sitting down to tea with your mother as you hang here."

"Oh shit," the boy murmured. "Oh shit, shit, shit, shit..."

The clone nodded, smiling happily now that he understood. "So, I figure we have a few hours until Tsume-san gets here to see to your discipline herself—if she doesn't just leave you to hang here overnight. Until then, let's play a game!" Seeing she'd broken him out of his cursing streak and judging by the slowly widening eyes she had his full attention at the moment, she smiled again for his benefit—the not-nice smile. "Kurenai-chan said you had to be whole and mostly unharmed, but she didn't say anything about uncomfortable and miserable, Kiba-kun. The game is called 'name that poisonous plant.' The game is simple to play. Here in my bag, I've gathered samples from the local flora—and there were some particularly interesting specimens to choose from. If I get the time, I may take up botany as a hobby... But I digress. I will remove a sample and you will take a guess at what it is. Answer correctly and I will drop that particular sample. Answer incorrectly, however... well, you can guess. Let's get started, shall we?" she asked, falling forward so as to reorient herself to stand upside down on the branch so Kiba could better see his fate.

"Shit," the boy whimpered as the clone produced something leafy and green.

The Hinata-clone blinked, looking between the sample in-hand and the hanging Inuzuka. _'No, it's too easy... I couldn't possibly... Well, what would Naruto-kun do?'_ she wondered before a foxy grin spread across her face—this one causing the bound boy to pale further than even the threat of his mother and sister hanging over his head. He _knew _that grin—hell, how could anyone in Konoha that had ever made Uzumaki Naruto's shit list not know it? She proved him right a moment later when she pouted. "Oh, I'm sorry Kiba-kun. It seems you're off to a bad start. I'm sorry to say, this is not actually feces. It's..." she paused, turning the sample over in hand for a moment to study it. "Some variant of poison oak, I believe. Oh well, it's not like I have to be entirely accurate—you were wrong, after all. Now, hold still." She paused a moment before asking, "By the way, you're right handed, aren't you?"

It was several hours later that a whimpering, twitching Kiba broke from frantically trying to guess what the current 'sample' in the clone's hand was—something wriggling and entirely too mobile to ever belong to the plantae family, and yet she insisted it was—to dead silence for a moment as he stretched out his senses. There! Footfalls, two pairs of sandals in the trees, heading inbound towards his general position at a good clip. Taking a deep breath, he abandoned dignity and screamed. "HELP! I'M OVER HERE! SHE'S CRAZY AND mmf!" he nearly gagged as the current sample was shoved into his mouth and only a snap decision to bite down as opposed to trying to expel it saved him from finding out whether or not this particular species could survive stomach acid as it made a dive for his throat. As it was, with his suddenly sadistic teammate tying his headband over his mouth to both silence him and ensure he couldn't spit the sample out, he found himself suddenly being orally molested by a particularly frisky species of vine. He broke into tears of relief as the two sets of footfalls came to a stop at their height on the neighboring tree. Finally, he would be free—

"So, you've been sharing techniques with Uzumaki-kun, Hinata-chan?" his mother's amused voice cut that thought short and Kiba couldn't decide whether he was rescued or if his supposed saviors had become his executioners.

He could _hear _the smile by now. "Well, we help each other where we can..." the girl deferred.

"Good girl," Tsume praised—honestly praised. He hadn't heard that tone directed at himself in months! "Too many kids these days would rather just screw around like horny teenagers than try to build some kind of actual, lasting relationship. Good on you."

"Well, I'll admit there was and will be much from the first column, if I have a say in it," she giggled. "But I am more focused on the second option at the moment."

The third person, who had remained silent so far, sighed. "Oh, little brother, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

It was Hana—just great. This was _just_ what he needed at the moment. Still, if they knew his side, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He made an attempt to explain, only to remember at the last moment just what it was he had in his mouth. A desperate clenching of the jaws left far more of the tree-borne _parasite _in his mouth than he was comfortable with, as it slipped further past his teeth. "Have you been listening to that bullshit your uncle's always going on about when he thinks I'm out of earshot—that whole alpha-male thing?" Tsume asked, getting a shake of the head in answer. "Are you lying to me, Kiba?" Hearing the clear tone of warning, the boy deflated and nodded. "Thought so."

"Kiba, what a girl says 'no,' she actually means 'no' and not 'yes,' you idiot," Hana put in, before moving closer and asking, "What's that in his mouth?"

Hinata shrugged. "I'm not quite sure. It looked like some sort of vine, but it grabs anything warm-blooded that comes near it—regardless of relative body mass—and then dives for the nearest orifice after enveloping whatever it's grabbed. I was afraid to take more than a small sample because it seemed a little too... rapey for comfort."

"Yeah, I've run across this stuff before. Not pleasant. It's carnivorous—then again, everything here that isn't is food for something that is, though I suspect you already knew that."

The smile was back. "Oh yes."

"Alright, Kiba. Here's how it's going to play out," his mother cut in, but paused at some unseen signal or question. "No, you can stay Hinata-chan—you're involved, after all." Tsume suddenly coming into his field of view and turning that disappointed look on him did little for his ego at the moment. "You have two choices, Kiba. Now, before you decide one way or the other, I want you to think about them carefully. Option one: you accept Hinata's punishment and live with it until it wears off naturally. After that, we'll consider things between the two of you square. If you fuck up again, I'll give you to her to do with as she sees fit." Seeing the boy nod once, she continued. "Option two: we'll cut you down and cart your sorry ass to the hospital and let the medics fix this," she gestured to the multiple patches of skin already breaking out in rashes and hives of varying intensity. "But if you cross her again, you'll answer to me—_after _she's done with you. Understand?" Another nod. "Good. Now, take a minute and decide."

Kiba almost rolled his eyes—almost, but he knew better. His mother would happily leave him here for the night if he disrespected her at this point, so he held his tongue—metaphorically. Literally, the vine still had a disturbingly tight grip on that particular appendage, and he shuddered to think what Hinata had intended to do with it when he guessed its species wrong. It wasn't much of a choice, really: stay tied to this godsforsaken tree for the rest of the night then drag his sore ass to training in the morning and leave the damage the pale-eyed bitch had done alone or promise not to do it again, go see a medic, and be home in time to sleep a full night in his own bed. Hold onto his pride and spend the next month miserable, or shame himself now and go home to lick his wounds, then beat the Uzumaki bastard into the ground when the chuunin exams rolled around.

Tsume removed the headband and shoved her fingers into his mouth, taking hold of the little parasite and giving it a sharp yank before flinging it at the forest floor. "Decision time, runt. What'll it be?"

He chose option two.

* * *

Naruto frowned in confusion at the empty training field—empty, save for Hinata, that is. "Where's your team?" he asked, wondering if he'd somehow gotten here late.

Hinata smiled—the nice smile. "We called practice off early. Kiba and I had a... disagreement. It's been resolved, for the moment."

"'For the moment?' What kind of disagreement?" he asked, curious and a little worried. As much as Team Seven bitched about and sniped at each other, they'd never actually fought over much of anything—and Naruto had the distinct feeling that whatever had happened wasn't some simple 'disagreement.'

A shrug was his answer as the girl pushed herself off the tree she'd been waiting against and cut across the field, Naruto following. "The company I keep, and how it was no one's business but my own."

There was a minute of pause from the blond before he asked, "You mean me?"

"Right in one."

He snorted. "What'd the jackass have to say?"

Quiet laughter drew his attention to where Hinata had turned to face him, walking backwards. "Nothing important, Naruto-kun. I appreciate you being all protective, though," she grinned, drawing a blush from the blond. "I'll tell you what..." she hummed, grin widening just a little. "Kurenai-ch...sensei made _me _promise not to hurt him, but she didn't say anything about asking you to do it for me. So Naruto-kun, would you beat the big, bad doggy into the ground for me?"

Snickering, he nodded. "Sure. I mean, if I'm going to be doing it anyway, I might as well give him a reason why."

"Good," the girl nodded, turning back towards the trail to Anko's preferred field as the amusement dropped from her voice. "Because he intends to kill you, if you don't."

Naruto blinked. "What?" A beat and then, "Do you _know _this or..."

A shake of the head. "Not for a fact, no—but it was pretty obvious. I should probably give you the rundown of what actually happened, so you'll understand. After I put him down and got him situated, I went to see Tsume-san—that's Kiba's mother and head of the Inuzuka clan—to give her a heads up on what was going on and make sure she knew I wasn't planning to turn it into a clan affair, yet. She agreed that he needed to have his nose rubbed in it, but she wanted to give him another chance—either to shape up or to dig himself in deeper, she wasn't specific as to which. Both options were on the table, really. So, we agreed to give him a choice: he could take his licks, as she put it, and deal with what I'd done until it got better on its own or he could choose the easy fix, with an ominous 'or else' hanging over his head if he made a repeat performance of today. He chose 'or else.'"

"What did you do, exactly?"

"You remember how to identify poisonous plants?" she asked, shooting him a grin.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Send a clone and make sure not to wipe your ass with it."

Giggling, Hinata nodded. "Well, that would work, I suppose." Getting her laughter under control, she continued. "I dragged him into the Forest of Death—that's where we'll be taking stage two of the exam, by the way—and strung him up on a tree. Then my clone spent the afternoon testing the toxicity of various plants in direct skin contact, with Kiba as an unwilling test subject. Well, it was more of a game, really—I told him if he could name what I was going to smear him with, I wouldn't, but apparently he didn't pay attention during those lessons. Not that it would have mattered much, as the stuff in that training ground is all mutated to the point of being nearly unidentifiable at times."

"Scary."

"Yeah, and that's not counting the hentai-vines. You used those too, right?" a voice drew the pair's attention to the special jonin perched a few meters up three trees ahead of them.

Hinata hummed. "If by 'hentai-vines,' you mean the rapey ones..." Anko nodded. "Then yes. Shoved one in his mouth when he tried to scream for help."

Chuckling, Anko dropped from her perch and motioned for the pair to follow her into the clearing nearby—the training ground she had been sharing with Hinata for a month now. "Beautiful. Wish I could have seen his face." Sighing in disappointment, she shrugged and turned to survey the pair of genin before bringing her hands together in a clap. "So! You've brought blondie and you wound up using my favorite training ground as a disciplinary action for the mutt—does this mean what I think it means?"

"Probably," Hinata allowed. "There room for one more here?"

Anko grinned—leered, really. "Perhaps. We can discuss terms and conditions of payment later."

With a sigh, Hinata turned a look on the blond beside her. "I'll be late getting in tonight, it seems."

"Eh?" the blond murmured. "You're spending the night?"

"Of course," the girl smiled. "Well, I suppose I'll need a bag..." One seal later, a clone popped into existence. Anko blinked as the pair brushed hands for a moment—it couldn't have been more than two seconds, really—and the clone was off.

"Uh, student of mine?" she asked, drawing the girl's attention. "Did you just do that in less time than it takes most people to seal for a jutsu?"

Hinata blinked. "Oh, right, you've never seen me do that before," she mused, before nodding. "It doesn't take long any more. My chakra control is pretty good and, well, it's my chakra to begin with. I'm not playing tug-of-war with the clone for chakra, if that's what you're wondering. She pushes, I pull, and we're done."

"That... that actually makes a lot of sense," the woman mused. The biggest downside to the technique was the amount of time it typically took to perform. If the explanation for that was as simple as ninja—and their shadow clones, by extension—being instinctively defensive of their body's chakra when it came into contact with foreign chakra or a clone simply not wanting to give up more chakra than it felt comfortable with, it made sense that if one could suppress that natural reflex to essentially clamp down on their power in either case then the process could be sped up accordingly.

Shaking her head, Anko grinned. "Oh, we're going to have fun tonight. And I've figured out how we're going to dislodge that stick from your cousin's ass." Seeing Hinata perk up, her grin stretched wider. "Nuhuh. Later. First, let's deal with lover boy here."

Suddenly realizing he was the center of attention again, Naruto gulped. "Er, hi?"

Anko snorted. "Not much of a conversationalist."

"Oi!"

"It isn't his best quality, no," Hinata allowed, sending a teasing smile towards the boy.

Adopting a hurt look, he asked, "You too, Hinata-chan?" When she simply smiled wider, he rolled his eyes. "Fine. So maybe I'm not that great at talking sometimes."

"Humble, too," Anko added, drawing a crude gesture from the target of her teasing. "Maybe later."

Blinking, the blond looked between the special jonin and his girlfriend before shrugging and asking, "So, how do I beat Kiba?"

"Well first," Hinata started before shooting a look towards Anko. "Do you have that counter I asked for?"

"Yeah," the special jonin nodded. "I assume you don't need it yet?" she asked, getting a nod. "Okay, that's fine. Unfortunately, it can't be applied beforehand, and even if it could anyone who knows how to use the five-point elemental seal in the first place is going to notice and likely take a more permanent solution if that doesn't work the first time."

With a nod, the Hyuuga girl sighed, "I was afraid of that. I'll send a clone out to undo it once it's safe."

"Am I missing something?" the blond asked, growing more confused as the pair exchanged a look.

Finally, Hinata shook her head. "You don't need to know the specifics, Naruto-kun. Just know that everything will be fine—I promise." She'd learned her lesson the first time, with giving the blond too much information before the Wave mission—though, thankfully, she hadn't had to learn the hard way in that instance.

Instead of agreeing or protesting immediately, he took a moment to really think about what she was saying. Hinata obviously knew something was going to happen to his team during the exam, that much was certain. She also seemed equally certain that, even if something was going to happen to him—whatever this five-pointed seal thing was, apparently—that she could fix it. Hell, she'd gone out of her way to ask Anko—a jonin—for a fix for it since she didn't have one herself. "Alright," he eventually nodded. "I guess I won't worry about it, then."

Hinata's small sigh of relief was all the blond needed to hear to know he'd made the right choice. "Right, then—dealing with Kiba..."


	3. 0200

**The Life and Times**

* * *

_"Faced with sudden freedom after a period of confinement and/or torture, most individuals find themselves at a loss—simply happy to be free. As for myself, I came to a realization—two, really. I realized I had nothing left to lose any more—nothing could be taken from me that I couldn't simply rebuild, replace, or remake. On the heels of that, I realized that with the ability to simply undo and redo events to my liking that nothing was truly taboo any more. Nothing to lose and anything goes; either one of those is liberating enough on its own, but together? For the first time in my—at the time—relatively short life, I found myself with freedom. Not simply freedom, but infinite freedom—unlimited, unbound, and unassailable. I was Untouchable. I was such a fool."_

* * *

Hinata practically bounced with restless energy as she watched the entrance to the tower. Today was the day she would finally beat her cousin and end the loop she'd been living in for the last few months—well, end it the only way that would possibly satisfy her now, assuming forfeiting to Neji would actually work. While she saw no reason that it wouldn't, the thought of just giving up now simply didn't sit right after all she'd been through to get to this point while before, it had never really occurred to the girl beyond a fleeting thought that she should simply forfeit instead of facing death. Tomorrow would be a brand new day—she had no idea what was going to happen and she was looking forward to it almost as much as she was looking forward to spending the night with Naruto tonight after nearly a week of forced celibacy in the Forest of Death and the tower at the heart of the training field. Smiling, she realized she actually _was _bouncing, and with a supreme effort managed to still herself.

A sound from the entrance drew her attention to a sun-haired blond, a pinkette, and a moody, raven-haired bishonen. Checking her watch, she blinked. _'Huh, Team Seven is early. Oh well, who am I to complain?' _she mused, shrugging and setting an intercept course for the blond. A moment later, he almost managed to get out of the way before her arms latched on and she bled momentum off by dragging him into a short spin. Nearby, she noticed Sakura twitch and make a fist, but apparently reconsider given what had happened the last time she'd tried to swat her blond teammate while he was in the possession of the Hyuuga girl—that, and she sort of owed the other girl for sending a clone to bail them out that first night after being ambushed. Whatever the long-haired snake freak had done to Naruto, Hinata had managed to undo—though she hadn't been able to do anything for Sasuke—and as much as Sakura hated to admit it, Naruto had pulled their asses out of the fire the next morning when the Sound team Hinata had warned them about had poked their heads out.

As Hinata began dragging him away from his team, her intentions pretty clear by the grin she sported at the moment, Naruto attempted to slow her down. "Wait, Hinata-chan!" the girl hummed in question, but did not stop pulling him towards the stairs—and one of the empty rooms on the next floor up. "Aren't you cutting it a little close?"

This time, she did stop. Checking her watch, she whimpered. "Fine," she sulked. "But after this, we're going back to your place and we aren't coming back out again until tomorrow."

Giving a semi-relieved sigh, the blond nodded at the stay of execution, as it were. "How long until they start, anyway?"

"About ten minutes," the girl admitted, drawing a roll of the eyes from the blond.

A voice from behind reminded them of their audience. "Wait... You mean you—and _Naruto_?" Sakura asked, incredulity audible.

Turning away from the blond and facing Sakura in such a way that of the four of them, only Sakura had a clear view of her hands, Hinata grinned. "Of course," she answered, head tilting vaguely towards the blond as her hands spread to indicate a rough measurement of length. Sakura blinked, going red as the thought processed. It was when Hinata nodded towards the Uchiha that she perked up, only to nearly fall on her face as the Hyuuga girl's hands closed distance to each other to indicate a much smaller unit of length. Just to rub salt in the wound, she added, "Naruto-kun has all sorts of charms you'll likely never see."

"Wha—but... how?" Sakura stuttered, eyes darting back and forth between the confused blond, indifferent and unaware Uchiha, and the still grinning Hyuuga.

Hinata shrugged. "Naruto-kun hasn't exactly been the _dead last_ in a long time, Sakura-_chan_," she offered. "Oh, look at the time!" she perked up as the exam proctors, various sensei, and the Hokage began to gather and call the genin together.

As he followed Hinata to where it was indicated they were to form ranks, Naruto shook his head. "I'm not sure what that was about, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to know."

"Probably not," Hinata admitted—definitely not wanting to share that Anko had, at one point, named her the unofficial referee of the dick measuring contest of their graduating class. Naruto may also not appreciate learning that he was in second place in that contest, just behind Chouji—but he would have probably found it an even trade-off for the knowledge that the Uchiha was squarely dead last. If people wanted to overlook the fact that a clan with a dojutsu that could see through clothing as well as it could see through walls was allowed to walk around Konoha, who was she to question it? Besides, it wasn't as though she went around intentionally making comparisons—despite that that was exactly what Anko suggested she do, only adding that she find some way to profit from it.

The genin were dismissed to the stands where events began to unfold much as they had in previous iterations of this phase—Hinata's strict policy of non-interference with the other genin teams, with the exception of removing Orochimaru's seal from Naruto, having ensured that the same players turned up. With no new faces, the Hokage had no reason to change his mind about who was pitted against whom. No new or different iteration with the various teams meant everyone save for herself and Naruto—and possibly Kiba and Shino—were fighting with the same skill-set they'd had when Hinata first lived through the exam. All in all, it meant a boring hour and some change for Hinata as she watched the same old fights play out mostly same way, in mostly the same order—with the exception of a fight lasting a few minutes more or less than it had the last time, or one fight taking place three rounds before or after when it would normally depending on the mood of whoever controlled the selection board, there was little change in the basic outcome of each. While tempted to use the blond at her side to distract herself until either her match with Neji or his match against Kiba—which were occasionally interchangeable in order—she didn't want him going down to fight her teammate distracted. Besides, they were calling her name and...

Hinata blinked as Naruto shook her gently. "Oi, Hinata-chan, you're up," he tried again, getting a nod in answer. "Good luck!" he called after her as she descended the stairs leading to the arena floor with a wave over her shoulder. It was time.

Making her way out to the center of the field, she let her mind wander—back over all the frustration, fear, pain and betrayal she'd felt every time she'd been forced to relive this very moment. Death at the hands of her cousin again, and again, and again—and for what? So he could get some twisted pleasure out of the thought of making her father relive the loss of his brother and Neji's own father through her death? What kind of sick, twisted logic was that? For all his genuis in the art, Neji was an idiot and blind if he couldn't see that what he had planned would end only in more misery for everyone. And then there were those watching—the Hokage, the gathered jonin and chuunin of Konoha and the participating villages, even her peers. The Hokage had been prepared to sacrifice her simply to send a message to her clan—perhaps not in the way he thought, but she was sure he would adjust his plans accordingly for her death. No one had expected her to come out of this the winner—even Naruto, deep in his heart, had known it was hopeless from the outset. It was probably why he had done his best to urge her to try anyway—because it was exactly what he would have done.

Beside them, the referee stood motionless while before her, Neji began to speak—about _fate_, of all things. Oh, his spiel was different this time, but she wasn't paying attention—she was waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting... There. It was time to send her own message—to Neji, to her clan, to the Hokage, and to anyone who would listen. She tilted her head towards the gathered jonin, chuunin, and the Hokage and smiled—the not-nice smile. And then she _moved_. Neji cut off abruptly as a sandal-shod foot slammed into his solar-plexus at shunshin speed, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back. By the time he had hit the ground, his bloodline had activated—in time to watch as his worthless cousin sealed a clone into being. With the byakugan active, he saw the exchange of chakra between them as their hands brushed and then they were splitting up and circling into position, even as he used the rest of the momentum imparted by Hinata's opening shot to roll back to his feet—only to have to go on the defensive immediately. The black and purple blur his cousin had become materialized inside his guard, blowing aside his defense and tagging him with a punch-and-jab combo of some style he was unfamiliar with, but apparently backed by jyuuken as where her fists and fingers made contact he felt and saw tenketsu closing. And then she was gone again and out of easy retaliation range before his own attack could connect.

Neji watched as she resolved again, halfway across the arena and already panting. _'So, she's managed to match Lee's speed with the weights but lacks the stamina to keep it up,'_he surmised, even as he shifted and moved to avoid twin hails of thrown weapons, adjusting his strategy to compensate for her apparent skill gain. As the weapons crossed his path to either side, creator and clone stepped into a shunshin, aiming to pass in the middle. A shift of the feet, twirl, tilt left to avoid a kunai entirely too close to his neck for comfort as he realized she was attempting to use lethal strikes, feet shifting again to avoid the second kunai dragging across his Achilles tendon, and they were gone—stopping only when they had traded places. Against anyone else, it would have been an effective tactic—distract them with thrown weapons and slip in close, forcing a slower or less observant target to choose between losing their life or taking a crippling but non-lethal blow. Against someone who regularly sparred with Rock Lee and was used to being attacked at that speed, against Tenten with her own predilection for edged weaponry and deadly accuracy therewith, it would have only worked once. As it stood, it almost had, as he felt the sting of sweat rolling into a pair of shallow cuts. Her labored breathing and obvious air of desperation as she realized her own dwindling chakra supply would not be enough to win the match gave him all the proof he needed that his cousin was still just as worthless as she had always been.

_'A little more,'_ Hinata mused, hitching her breath up a bit more and nodding at her clone before starting her next attack run. She nearly smiled as she ducked under Neji's fingers, her clone doing likewise opposite him as they passed. _'You can't hit me at this speed, Neji. We won't sit still long enough for you to enter the sixty-four palms and even if you did, we'd be out of range again before you could tag either of us more than once. But maybe you need more convincing to figure it out...'_

Another seal and two more clones popped into existence to the barely visible surprise of the elder of the pair of Hyuuga, leaving her truly winded long enough to brush hands with the clones before she had her breathing back under control and they separated before Neji could take advantage—three clones out now and each running on twenty percent of her total chakra. And now there were four of her—jugular, spine, kidney on the turn, right thigh on the way out. With a frown Neji was forced to yet again reassess his estimate of his cousin's threat level, coming out of this last exchange having dispersed a clone but taking a nasty gash along his forearm for the effort. _'Alright then. The next time she rushes, I'll end it,' _he decided, shifting his stance for a lower center of gravity for the technique he had in mind.

And up in the stands, amongst several speechless or amused jonin and chuunin, one Mitarashi Anko snorted. "Yeah, this fight's over."

* * *

"So, a crash course on the basics," Anko started, taking a pull from her sake bottle before setting it on the edge of the table she and Hinata currently stood around. Hefting the smooth, tapered length of wood in her hands she sighted down it and pushed her hand forward, sending a white ball rolling forward at speed to break up a cluster of other multi-colored balls arranged in a pyramid atop the green-felt covered table.

"The basics?" Hinata repeated, eying her own bottle and deciding against it—she didn't particularly feel like stumbling her way back to Naruto's apartment in the dark and she wanted to be aware and sensate for what would likely happen shortly thereafter. Besides, he disliked the taste—not that she could blame him.

"Yup," Anko agreed, shifting around the table and sighting in a lone striped ball. "There are four basic types of defenses: The Wall, don't-be-there, offense-as-defense, and distraction tits."

Hinata blinked. "'Distraction tits?'" she repeated dubiously.

"Right," the special jonin nodded, then blinked. "Wait, is that Kurenai with _Kakashi_?" she asked, pointing towards the door of their usual haunt. Hinata's head turned to follow the woman's finger before she recognized the ruse for the practical demonstration it was, her head turning back just in time for a finger to nearly poke her eye out. "Distraction tits."

Rolling her eyes, Hinata stepped away from the special jonin and watched as the woman sent yet another ball into one of the available holes on the table. "Can we not call it that?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who named it," Anko defended. "It's a long, time-honored tradition..." Seeing her sort-of apprentice wasn't buying it, she shrugged. "Anyway, the names are pretty self-explanatory. Kaiten is mostly The Wall, with some don't-be-there and offense-as-defense thrown in for flavor. At it's heart, it's a wall. The caster uses chakra and angular momentum to take advantage of physics and deflect nearly anything you can throw at it."

Hinata nodded, having lived through the technique a time or two firsthand. The fact that Anko knew more than Hinata herself about supposedly secret Hyuuga family techniques spoke more to the fact that Hinata hadn't been trusted with those secrets than the Hyuuga's ability to keep them secret—after all, you had to know your teammates' capabilities if you were to work effectively together, and having a technique that could defend oneself from most things would be need-to-know information. It was just more proof that her father had considered her expendable for years. Pushing aside the thought, she brought herself back to the present. "Right. It creates a rotating wall of chakra that, while it isn't entirely solid or even, might as well be at that speed."

It was Anko's turn to blink. "It's uneven at the sides?" she asked, getting a nod in answer. "Huh. I didn't know that. Well, I suppose it would be when I think about it. So, smooshed down at the top like a globe and... vaguely elliptical?"

"Sort of. There are...waves," the younger girl shrugged, before a proper comparison came to mind. "You know those heat outlets on top of some houses—the ones with all the little openings that spin? It's sort of like that."

"I see," the special jonin took a minute to think that over before shrugging and taking another shot. "Off the top of my head, I can name about a dozen ways of breaking it. Most of those you can't do yet, unfortunately. You might have some luck with the sword method, but I doubt you want everyone to have to watch Neji scream about having his fingers and most of his hands cut off."

"Getting to that point," Hinata admitted.

Shrugging, Anko continued. "Right, so ruling out burying it, burning it, drowning it, sinking it, piercing it, counter rotation, matched rotation, or coming in from the top or bottom... that leaves the inelegant solution. My favorite, really."

"Oh?"

The special jonin snorted. "You didn't really think I was just going to hand it to you, did you?" she asked, taking hold of the cue ball and setting it to spinning in place on the table. Sighting down the eight ball—coincidentally, the last ball left—she popped the cue ball and sent it slamming into the eight, which ricocheted a few times before finding a corner pocket come home to. "You've got to earn it."

* * *

"Yes, she has made a good showing, but Hinata-san will likely lose to my least youthful student in the next exchange," Gai lamented quietly in agreement with Anko as he took in Neji's familiar stance—or so he thought.

Anko's smile was predatory and entirely too full of teeth for the comfort of those watching. "Care to put money on it?"

Further speculation was cut off as Hinata and one of the two remaining clones dropped into shunshin. Between then, Neji began to spin, building up the kaiten to full rotation just before she reached the sphere—only for one Hinata to disappear, to be replaced by a clone suddenly moving at shunshin velocity and bearing a strip of paper already burning down. Neji barely had time to close his eyes as he recognized the threat for what it was before the clones slammed into him, one popping out of existence against the rotation of the kaiten, and the other following a heartbeat after—followed an instant after that by the tag Hinata had palmed off to her first clone detonating in his face. Whether it was due to the concussive blast or the shock of an explosion going off at point blank range, Neji's control wavered and he lost his anchor, which in turn sent the Hyuuga prodigy into an uncontrolled tumble. Unlike Anko's cue ball, Neji failed to hold up nearly as well and his hold over the technique failed almost instantly, turning a mostly-harmless tumble within a protective sphere into limbs and body slamming into the ground at a speed a civilian would not be walking away from. As it was, Neji didn't have it in him to do anything more than gasp for air and groan at the pain of multiple fractures—hairline or otherwise—across more of his bones than those left uninjured.

He didn't hear so much as feel her footfalls approaching between the pounding beats of his own heart, his ears ringing and eardrums likely damaged beyond repair without medical attention _soon_. She stopped above him and his eyes met hers—once so warm and expressive, they had gone cold and hard and he came to the realization that this had been _planned_ every step of the way. She had goaded him into locking himself in place with a kaiten and had exploited a basic concept of physics to leave him beaten and broken, but alive. He knew, looking into her eyes, that if she had wanted him dead he would _be_ dead. And judging by that smile, she knew he knew—_wanted_ him to know, even. She wasn't even _breathing hard_, for gods' sakes—even _that _had been a ruse, as she had convinced him into believing she was weaker than she truly was. It wasn't hard to do, given what he thought he had known of her. Hinata broke him out of his thoughts as she spoke, and while he couldn't hear, his vision wasn't quite so blurred that he couldn't make out her lips moving. "It's over, Neji. You lose. It wasn't fate, or destiny, or even the main house triumphing over the branch house. It was me. I want you to remember that I left you alive only because you wouldn't have done the same in my place."

Hinata turned away and made for the stairs, and he sensed movement nearby clue him in to the fact that the medics had likely been called already. Just outside his field of view, Hinata paused before digging about in one of her pouches. If he could have seen her face when she found what she was looking for, he would have made every effort to get up and run for the entrance as a completely different and alarmingly wide smile crossed her face this time. "Oh! I almost forgot. One more thing, Neji-_niisan_," she called, producing a fist-sized ball of something woven tightly together—though he failed to hear her, of course. "Insult to injury."

The approaching trio of medics paused as the girl negligently tossed a ball of brown over her shoulder, where it landed on the downed Hyuuga's chest. For a moment nothing happened and they almost continued on to their patient as the disturbingly-smiling girl passed them. It was that smile that stopped them, though—wide and entirely too much like a certain blond for anyone's comfort. That hesitance saved them a bit of humiliation as, a moment later, the brown ball burst into action, uncoiling into a mass of vines entirely too enthusiastic to greet the Hyuuga they'd found themselves settled on. Those left on the observation deck shuddered at the boy's shriek upon discovering his new... playmate. Those that both knew the Hyuuga girl personally and recognized the plant for the denizen of the Forest of Death that it was wondered what the boy could have done to deserve the living hell she'd just inflicted on him. Those that knew Neji personally, while they were fewer in number, were sure that he deserved it.

Those shrieks were music to her ears as Hinata all but danced her way up the stairs and back to Naruto's side. Despite looking a little green about the gills, the blond sent her a smile and a murmured congratulations. Of everyone gathered there, he was one of two individuals aside from Hinata herself that had an idea just what she'd been through—only an idea, though, as even he was sure she was holding much back that she would simply rather not talk about. Considering the hell he'd put her through, intentional or not, Neji was getting off light in Naruto's eyes. He was broken from that thought by a murmur from the girl beside him. "I may just have to do that again tomorrow."

"Please don't," the blond rolled his eyes. "He's not worth it."

With a sigh, Hinata turned around and collapsed against the waist-high barrier there to prevent observers from falling over the side, leaning until her side rested against the blond's leg as all the tension that had gathered since first finding herself dead by her cousin's hand suddenly rushed outward, leaving her mentally and physically drained—exhausted on a level she hadn't known was possible. "You're probably right. Besides, tomorrow is a new day and I don't want to miss it—even for this."

Down below, the medics had finally decided that separating Neji from Hinata's gift was too risky to attempt where it could potentially escape into the open in such a target-rich environment and so had loaded the genin onto a stretcher, thankful that it seemed oddly content to simply molest the Hyuuga boy as opposed to trying for the targets the medics themselves presented. As soon as they cleared the floor, the board spun up again and spat out the names of the next contestants. "That's me," Naruto grinned, already antsy to get downstairs.

"Have fun," Hinata yawned, for all the world looking like she planned to take a nap.

Naruto blinked. "Aren't you going to watch?"

Shrugging, the girl smiled. "I already know how it turns out. And even if I didn't, I don't believe you could lose to Kiba."

"Well yeah, I'm going to kick his ass. Be back in a few," he grinned, swinging over the barrier and dropping to the ground on the other side before making his way to the starting position.

Despite her stating otherwise, Hinata pulled herself up and focused on the match to come. It was frightening how accurate she had been just a month ago, predicting both Kiba's goal and his current strategy despite the fact that this fight was entirely different from every other match she'd seen between the pair. Kiba opened with a set of smoke bombs and a fast, hard blitz and only picked up the pace from there—he had apparently opted to skip the niceties and he and Akamaru were already attempting to double-team Naruto. It wouldn't work, even with the smoke cloud, because Naruto would be expecting just that and the blond was a walking one-man army. Dozens of clones came bursting out of the initial smoke cloud while Kiba wasted his time on who knows how many others—and those clones began flooding the area with even more clones.

Quickly growing frustrated at hitting nothing but air and smoke, the Inuzuka and his partner came boring out of the smoke cloud on opposite sides in a pair of drilling attacks—only to find a sea of orange waiting for them on the outside. Pressing on, the pair attempted to drill their way through the orange sea only to find out the hard way that Naruto and Hinata had apparently been training together as clones began to launch themselves at the Inuzuka and his partner, first from all sides to disorient and slow Kiba's technique and then in a very specific pattern. While not good for more than a single hit against the clawed whirlwind/chakra shell that was the Inuzuka family's most well-known attack—a punch here, a kick there—that single blow moving at shunshin speed and repeated dozens of times in the span of a breath and with no end in sight quickly overwhelmed the Inuzuka. The sea of orange he'd found himself stranded in suddenly rose up and crashed over his own technique like a tsunami, while on the other side of the ring the same was happening to Akamaru's own Kiba-transformation enhanced drill. To those watching, it wasn't a sea or a tsunami, it was a whirlpool of swirling orange dragging the pair they'd cut off from each other down into the center of the blond's technique—a three meter wide ring of open ground where a single orange-clad blond waited, holding an ominously-flaming strip of paper in light of the previous match.

Kiba rolled to a stop on solid ground bruised, battered, and more than a little punch-drunk. He had enough presence of mind that he was aware of two other individuals in the suddenly cleared arena—one of whom was his partner, the other an orange-clad blond just now crouching over him and holding something up to his face. Kiba paled as he recognized the exploding tag for what it was. Unlike Neji, he wouldn't have the benefit of already being encased in some sort of protective technique when it went off—and those things were typically lethal at this range. The message on the blond's grinning face was clear as he glanced between the tag and the downed Inuzuka—forfeit. Oh, Kiba knew Naruto wouldn't actually let the thing go off, but the message was still there: he had lost everything, and Naruto was now taking the time to personally humiliate him for both this and for what he'd done with Hinata before the blond was done. He'd thrown everything he'd thought he'd needed to at the so-called Dead Last and Naruto had dragged him down and crushed him before he could truly get started—let alone find the one real body in the sea of clones he'd created.

"Ref, I forfeit," Kiba grunted out. Above him, the blond put out the tag and disappeared—nothing but a clone—leaving the nearly gone tag to fall to rest on Kiba's face.

The silent observation deck the genin had been assigned gave a near-collective jump as another blond suddenly popped up in their midst—this one dropping from his position on the ceiling above them to land back where he'd started. "Thought you weren't going to watch?"

"I changed my mind," the girl beside him grinned. "I wanted to see the look on his face. It was worth it."

They would have continued, had the Hokage not called an end to the current phase of the exam and had them gather in the ring. Despite this being new, Hinata tuned him out as she reveled in self-congratulatory bliss—she had won. Naruto had won. They were going to the finals. They were drawing tickets from a box, and now they were listing off their numbers and being sorted into brackets... Hinata blinked. She looked at her slip of paper, then Naruto's, then the board. _'Oh for fu— _really_!?'_ Of all the matches to draw in the final exam, she had drawn the first. Of all the opponents to choose from, she had somehow wound up facing Naruto. _'Nope!'_

Naruto's hand snaked out and snagged Hinata's own, just as it made it to her kunai pouch. "Don't even think about it, Hinata-chan," he grinned. When she turned a confused look on him, his grin spread wider. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she nodded. "Fine. I just think it's awfully _convenient _that you were the one I drew to fight," she grumbled, glaring at the suddenly sweating and entirely too nervous looking chuunin who had been tasked with passing out the slips in the order the Hokage wanted.

"Oh, it's rigged for sure," the blond agreed, _loudly_, drawing a violent flinch from the chuunin in question and the attention of both the gathered genin and various jonin and the Hokage himself—who was, needless to say, displeased. "I mean, just look at who Sasuke got."

"Oi, dobe. Shut up," the Uchiha in question warned, having been sent back from being sealed by Kakashi, but not in time to watch the matches after his own.

Sending a rude gesture the Uchiha's direction, Naruto returned, "You shut up, teme! What have you got to complain about—you got Gaara in your first match. You didn't see what he did to Lee, didn't you? Either way you go, that fight's going to be pretty short—but probably impressive. If Gaara wins, he's likely to get promoted—even if he is a creepy bastard. If you win, the 'mighty Uchiha' has beaten one of the Kazekage's kids and you're pretty much guaranteed promotion to chuunin—actually, I'm pretty sure most of the village would riot if you weren't. If you look at the lineup, the first matches are either going to be flashy, brutal, or in Shika's case drawn out and full of overcomplicated crap and plans-within-plans most of us won't understand."

"You are correct, Naruto," the Hokage admitted, hoping to save face in light of the blond's breech of protocol. "The matches of the final exam are arranged for maximum exposure to the crowd—both the civilians and the visiting dignitaries—in the hopes of giving you all a chance to show off a bit for those watching. A participant who does particularly well is more likely to draw clients to their village than one who wins, but does not make so grand a showing. Now, let us conclude our business here and take our leave of the Forest of Death—I doubt anyone wants to spend yet another night away from the comfort of either their own bed or those provided by one of our fine hotels."

It was nearing dark when the pair of Naruto and Hinata stumbled into the blond's apartment, Naruto turning to lock his door as Hinata began shedding clothes on the way to her bed—_her_bed, as the clone she'd sent a month ago to collect her things had the foresight to remember that Naruto's bed sucked while hers did not, and had purchased a storage scroll to make the switch—where she collapsed into a boneless heap. While much larger and leaving them with less room to move about the single bedroom, neither of them complained, and Naruto's old bed had found a home in one of the many unoccupied apartments next door to his own. What her father had to say about her bed and belongings simply vanishing one day while Hinata herself had stopped showing up at the Hyuuga estate, she neither knew nor cared.

To Naruto's credit, he barely blushed as he found the Hyuuga girl sprawled across the bed, an armful of her clothes in hand as he began to put them away. He made to say something, only to be interrupted. "What do you want, Anko?" Hinata asked, muffled somewhat by the comforter under her face. Naruto turned around to find the woman leaning against the door frame behind him, having somehow entered his apartment mostly undetected—curious, because he remembered locking his front door and the windows were closed and trapped.

The special jonin in question blinked, then shrugged—if Hinata was getting good enough to detect her without the byakugan active, then it was time to move on to more advanced training. But before that... "Well, isn't this an awfully domestic scene. And look, you've even got him trained!"

"Bite me," the boy grumbled, drawing a leer from the special jonin.

"Maybe in a few," she allowed before turning her attention back to Hinata as she pushed off from the door-frame and swayed her way over towards the smaller girl, who had yet to so much as twitch. "I've come to collect my payment."

Hinata rolled her eyes at the ridiculously loud smack of Anko's open palm against her left butt cheek in the tiny bedroom, but refused to so much as flinch otherwise—if only to keep from giving the special-jonin the satisfaction. "Maybe when I'm done coming down off the adrenaline high. Come back later."

"Fine, fine," Anko huffed, crossing her arms in not-entirely-affected disappointment, muttering quietly about writing checks one's ass couldn't cash. "I'll swing by later and pick you two up for a celebratory drink."

"Eh, I don't—" Naruto started, only to be cut off by a shared snort from both Anko and Hinata.

"You will," came the oddly dual-toned reply—the same one Anko had given Hinata upon her own first protest.

Shrugging, the blond asked, "So, what's this payment Hinata-chan owes you?"

Eyes darting between the clueless blond and the suddenly even more still Hyuuga, Anko chuckled. "You forgot to tell him, didn't you?"

"Perhaps," Hinata allowed quietly. "I—"

"Oh no you don't!" Anko interrupted, grinning wide. "Don't ruin this for me. I want to see the look on his face."

Somehow, Naruto got the feeling that he was treading very dangerous ground. A groan from the general direction of Hinata's prone form only served to confirm his suspicions. "Right, well, uh... tonight then!" he agreed quickly, attempting and mostly failing to shoo the special jonin from his apartment. That she went anywhere, let alone towards the door, was because she wanted to.

"Oh, yes. Tonight," she promised, in a tone that Naruto decided to label as too ominous for him to be home when she showed up.

Locking the door behind the elder kunoichi, Naruto returned to his bedroom and breathed a sigh of relief. "Safe."

Hinata actually made the effort to roll over and sit up, sending the boy a look that clearly questioned his sanity. "You poor, foolish boy."

"What?"

Shaking her head, she asked, "You were thinking about running too, weren't you?" On his nod, she fell back onto the bed. "Don't bother—you'll just die tired." A pause, then she corrected herself with a shrug. "Well not die, but certainly be caught. Not sure which is worse."

"I don't want to be caught, do I?"

A snicker was the boy's answer as she finally made her way under the covers. "Not if you value your innocence."

Nodding, the blond grinned as he put forth his answer for most things. "Clones it is, then."

"That will only encourage her," Hinata yawned.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi was not a happy man—not by any stretch of the imagination. He had not been since his brother willingly sacrificed himself the night of his eldest daughter's attempted kidnapping. When his wife died—too young by far, like her mother and grandmother before her—only a few short years after Hanabi's birth, he had closed himself off to emotion completely. Well, almost completely. As had been happening more and more frequently in the years since his wife's death, the only time he truly felt anything was when he was near his eldest daughter—and then, never anything one would consider healthy: resentment, duty, and bitter longing for his wife.

Recently though, he had found himself feeling two new emotions towards his eldest child—the first being anger at her attempt at rebellion and abandonment of the clan. While he had had branch Hyuuga searching for the girl since the first week of her disappearance from the compound, none who had been able to track her down had managed to keep her in sight for long. Hiashi was beginning to suspect that his daughter's weaker nature and this rebellion had endeared her to the branch house and those of the subservient house were not putting forth quite as much effort as they would otherwise when it came to locating her.

Looking down on his nephew's beaten and broken form, covered in casts and bandages and more than one IV left him feeling something else entirely. Neji was the strongest in the family art of his generation—and he would only get better with time, even given this current setback. There were times he had wished that the gods had granted him Neji as a son in place of his eldest daughter. To see him laid low by the girl who he had dismissed as being too weak of will or body to lead the clan when the time came and had already made plans to have her placed within the cadet branch, who reminded him so much of Hikari... There was that feeling again—strangely warm in his chest and making him occasionally have to fight against a tiny upwards pull at the corners of his mouth. It was something he'd thought he'd lost a long time ago. Pride. True pride, in something worth being proud of—not the overblown, bloated pride that being of noble birth and standing brought with it.

He paid no heed to the hospital staff as he made his way from Neji's room and across town, back to the Hyuuga complex. There would be a meeting of the council this afternoon to discuss the upcoming final round of the chuunin exam and... Hinata's place in it. He paused at the gate long enough to make eye contact with the cadet branch Hyuuga standing on duty there. "Call off the search," he ordered quietly before resuming his stride towards the house. There were still a few years yet before the council could force him to choose an heir and things were only just starting to get... _interesting._

* * *

Naruto eyed the ninja before him—the man who had apparently owed Kakashi a favor and who Naruto vaguely recognized as being Konohamaru's tutor before entering the academy. Despite being a fairly reputable sensei, he wasn't much to look at. Kakashi had pawned him off on this loser in favor of training Sasuke himself—and while the reasoning behind it made sense in theory, in practice... not so much, no. Sasuke was the last Uchiha left alive in and loyal to Konoha. Kakashi had had a Sharingan since the middle of the last war—it made sense that he knew a thing or two that Sasuke might not, as even if he was not an Uchiha he had years of experience using the dojutsu. Where that theory fell apart is that, to Naruto's understanding, there wasn't actually all that much one could train the Sharingan to do that didn't come instinctively. As Anko explained it, the dojutsu could copy almost any technique the user laid eyes on with little to no effort required, except perhaps training one's chakra capacity and body to handle the techniques learned.

There were some details about the Sharingan being able to see faster—or slower, or more, he wasn't quite sure—than a normal eye, but the blond hadn't really paid attention. What it meant was that, to people like Kakashi, when they used the dojutsu the world around them seemed slower and allowed them longer to interpret the way an enemy was moving and counter it. The largest flaw in this enhanced perception was the notion that objects actually _were _moving at the speed one perceived them, and more than one Sharingan wielder had died when their body failed to keep up with what their eyes could process—which is where actually training to move at that speed came in.

In Naruto's mind, all the complicated details boiled down to hard physical training and chakra exercises to make up for the difference in physical ability and chakra control and capacity. All Kakashi really needed to teach Sasuke was how to train himself to increase his speed and maybe his chakra reserves and then just leave him to it—maybe throw in a jutsu or two, which would take all of five minutes considering the Sharingan's copying ability. So long as he checked back in every now and then to gauge the Uchiha's progress and provide a sparring partner, he should have plenty of free time to spend with his other two students _and_his orange books. But no, for some reason, here he stood with tall, dark, and goofy-looking staring down at him the way someone typically regarded something foul they'd just stepped in.

Eye twitching in annoyance, the blond walked out onto the hot spring indicated by his soon-to-be-former instructor and stepped into a kata just to prove that yes, he could in fact walk on water and the jonin tutor wouldn't be getting off that easy. He stopped when the older ninja coughed, getting his attention. "Yes, well, I see you've learned the basics of the water walking technique..." Giving it a moment of thought, he asked, "How is your proficiency with the basic three?"

Naruto palmed his face. _'Nope. Screw it. I just want him gone. I'll do better on my own,'_he decided. "You aren't actually planning to teach me anything useful, are you?" he asked, stepping off the hot spring.

There was a moment of pause as the jonin considered it, before he apparently decided to at least give the kid the truth. "No. Nothing that would give you an advantage over the young Uchiha, at any rate," he admitted. "Kakashi-san asked me to instruct you, but given your performance in the elimination matches... he did not want to take any chances, should you manage to win your match against the young Hyuuga girl and wind up facing Uchiha-kun in the final few matches." He paused again, as though considering, before deciding the best honesty was of the brutal sort. "I would apologize, but I agree with his decision. Given yours and Uchiha-kun's own, almost diametrically opposed, unique standings within the village he is the most likely of the two of you to go on to be promoted to the rank of chuunin should he win—whereas, even should you defeat every opponent you face and actually win the exam..."

"There's no way I'd get promoted?" the blond asked, getting a nod in answer.

"I believe you are acquainted with Mitarashi Anko, through your mutual... acquaintance, the young Hyuuga heiress?" he asked, getting a nod and a light blush in answer. "Ask her, when you get a chance, how many times it is now that she has been passed up for promotion from tokubetsu jonin to full jonin status."

Naruto shook his head. "No, I think I get the point." Grinning faintly, he shrugged. "You can tell Kakashi-teme you held up your end of the deal—we both know you don't want to be here and I don't want you here any more. I'd thank you for trying, but..." another shrug and a nod from the jonin as he disappeared, leaving behind a swirl of leaves—something neither he nor Hinata bothered with, as it required more effort and drew more attention than simply disappearing.

"Well. Shit," the blond grumbled. Now, the question was, what could he do about Kakashi's apparent betrayal, blatant favoritism, and attempt at either subversion or sabotage. It was clear that while he could trust his sensei with his life, trusting him for anything else where he and Sasuke were at odds was foolish at best and dangerously, suicidally stupid at worst. _'I've got to get the hell off this team,'_ the blond decided, finally. _'Except there's nowhere to really go. There are no open spots on the other rookie teams and I doubt Hinata's sensei's going to convince Kakashi to trade me for Kiba.'_ Even if he did manage to transfer to a new team, who was to say that the new sensei wouldn't be just as bad—if not worse? As far as Naruto knew, before now Kakashi had always been equally negligent towards all his students—and he still refused to buy the line about Kakashi not wanting to spoon feed them—but had never actively tried to sabotage one against the other. _'This is too much to deal with right now,'_he decided after a time.

Deciding to see if Hinata and/or Anko wanted to start training early—because, once he'd pointed out that it was a good thing he and Hinata were fighting each other in the final exam, she had insisted they not stop training together even while they both spent time working separately so that they could both surprise the other with whatever new techniques or ideas they came up with when it was time to actually face each other—he turned to leave the hot spring. One step later, the blond blinked as movement caught his eye and drew it to a tall man with long, white hair slowly standing from his position in front of the fence separating the men's side of the spring from the women's and beginning to back away slowly—as one might from a particularly poisonous snake, or an armed trap. He was more surprised when, a moment later, a towel-clad form flipped over the fence to their side and settled to reveal the nearly-nude form of his girlfriend—of the two things she wore, the wide grin was far more worrying for the blond than the towel. He'd seen that grin in the mirror often enough to know it could only mean trouble for someone. It looked like the spiky-haired guy had drawn the short straw today.

* * *

"What do you mean by 'I have no idea?'" Hinata asked, somewhat at a loss for once as her usual source/sounding board for information and ideas had apparently decided to run dry.

Anko rolled her eyes before turning them back to the pile of back-logged paperwork on her desk. Contrary to popular belief, Anko actually had a day job—that being Morino Ibiki's assistant and by extension second in command of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department. Unofficially, at any rate, given her standing with certain members of a certain council. The exams may have put her job on hold, but now that their stages were over and done with, she and Ibiki could return to work—leaving Anko with far less free time than she liked, which meant less time to play with her unofficial apprentice and their favorite blond. "I meant it exactly how it sounded. I know precisely dick about seals—and yes, I know how that sounds considering the abomination on my shoulder. It's actually the reason I'm not allowed to learn how to do anything more useful with them than store things or blow shit up—and while both are useful, neither is what you have in mind."

Sighing in annoyance, Hinata plopped down in the chair opposite Anko's desk. "What about the basics, then?"

Anko shrugged. "You'd get more use out of a scroll than me." On the girl's confused look, she nodded in realization and explained. "Books and scrolls on sealing are actually fairly common—mostly because they're next to useless. They can and do tell you how each individual seal from several well-known styles works and how they interact on the most basic level, but you won't find anything beyond that. It's more of that idiotic idea that some things are best spread by word of mouth alone, passed down from master to apprentice each generation and never beyond that. Considering that fuuinjutsu is only limited by a seal master's imagination and how much power he or she can dump into the things, it's probably actually better this way. They can do some pretty scary things, from what I've seen. Hell, your boyfriend is living proof of that."

"Then where did you get the counter to the five-point elemental seal?"

"I'm a ninja," Anko deadpanned. "I knew it had to be something my old sensei had done the moment you asked for it. Needless to say, it's something I've seen before—and it's pretty basic, besides. It's just an array meant to use elemental chakra to isolate the chakra inside of it from the chakra outside of it. Destroying one is easier than creating one."

Frowning as a thought occurred, the younger girl debated how best to ask before giving a mental shrug and coming right out with it—Anko wasn't one to beat around the bush and wouldn't appreciate the attempt at being delicate. "If you knew it was Orochimaru who put the seal on Naruto-kun, why didn't you just follow one of us and try to ambush him?"

The kunoichi across from her snorted. "It wasn't easy. I admit, it's hard even now, knowing he was here and every minute that passes, he's getting further out of my reach." Taking a deep breath, the trench-coat clad woman let it out slowly before sending Hinata a small, genuine smile. "Then I remind myself I'm in it to win the long game, not the short game. I want this damn seal _off _more than I want that child-molester dead. So, no suicide runs against my old sensei for me."

"I see," Hinata murmured—she had assumed as much, but hadn't known just how far Anko was willing to go to see it through. That the woman had placed what little faith she had left in Hinata's ability was humbling, and something the girl desperately did not want to disappoint once she realized it. Finally, Hinata grinned and changed the subject. "See, you do know more than a scroll," she pointed out, earning a bit of paperwork wadded up and tossed her general direction at the obvious attempt. "So, if not you, who else can I ask?""

"There are lots of people who know at least a little, but good luck getting them to come up off of what they know. And while I know you could probably infiltrate any one of those families or organizations, it isn't worth it." Hinata, who had perked up at the possibility, deflated on the special jonin's denial. Then she blinked as she noticed the older woman take on an annoyed look before apparently coming to a decision about something. "But if you're willing to give up a little dignity, I know where you can start looking..."

It was nearing noon when Hinata found herself stripping down and placing her clothes in one of the lockers provided before wrapping herself in a towel and walking into the women's side of the hot springs/public baths. The towel stayed firmly in place as she skipped the wash and went straight for a soak, dropping into the water near a group of kunoichi only a few years older than herself. While she did not mind Naruto seeing her nude—she enjoyed and encouraged it, even—and was not opposed to Anko doing likewise recently, the Sannin on the other side of the fence eying herself and her fellow kunoichi up like slabs of meat was another thing entirely. After some time, she felt his gaze leave her and move on to easier targets—obviously too much of a prude to actually enjoy the bath as it should be enjoyed, naked and surrounded by a dozen or more other beautiful women, and whatever other fantasies were likely playing out for him at the moment.

Slipping out of the bath, she made her way back towards the changing area before leaving the line of sight the peep-hole the Sannin was using provided and then slipping back towards the fence and along it towards the hole. A minute later, one pale lavender eye regarded a blue one through the hole in the wall, crinkling around the edges in a smile. The blue eye blinked twice before disappearing. Grabbing the fence with chakra with one hand and holding the towel tight with the other, she levered herself up and over the fence to land on the other side—foxy grin firmly in place as she eyed the Sannin who suddenly looked unsure of himself. Then it was her turn to blink upon catching sight of something orange on the other side of the pervert. Tilting her head, her grin became a smile as she spotted Naruto approaching.

"This is... awkward," Jiraiya murmured, watching the younger pair exchange a greeting before turning their attention back to him. "Usually there's the running, and the screaming, and the throwing of things..."

"You're Jiraiya of the Sannin," Hinata stated, drawing a glance from the blond beside her.

Scratching his head, Naruto shifted his gaze between his girlfriend and the Sannin. "So, this guy's somebody important? And what were you doing crouching over th..." he trailed off, looking 'over there' to find the peep-hole. Dots connected, and the blond's gaze once more traversed the distance between Hinata and the Sannin before fixing itself into something flat and entirely not pleasant. "Pervert."

"Not just any pervert—" the pervert in question started, only to be interrupted.

"Yes, yes, a super pervert," Hinata deadpanned, nearly causing the Sannin to fall over.

That had gained his attention, apparently, as he looked her over more closely for a moment—inciting a quiet growl from the blond that he was likely unaware he was making—before grinning. "So, how is Anko-chan these days?" he asked, finally placing her face from his briefing.

There was that smile again. "She asked me to kick you, if you called her that," she informed, though made no move to do so even as the Sannin winced in remembered pain. Well, a clone had remembered it—he'd learned from Tsunade to never be around volatile females any time he decided to set them off.

Now sure this meeting was not simply coincidence, he asked, "So, why didn't she come to this little meet-and-greet herself? I'd figure she'd want to show off an apprentice." He did not ask why the blond was there or who he was—he'd heard the exchange between the blond and the closet pervert well enough to ensure he'd be having a sit-down with Kakashi some time in the near future and had already been considering following the boy out and introducing himself.

"Paperwork," Hinata shrugged, eliciting a sympathetic cringe from the Sannin. "And the apprenticeship isn't official yet—for whatever reason, she's still fence-sitting on that." It likely had everything to do with the fact that Anko had no idea if Hinata was simply playing her—Anko herself had pointed out that given girl's special type of psychosis, she would be a natural at infiltration. It was not an entirely inaccurate assessment on the special jonin's part—Hinata had considered it more than once, after all, and had only gotten very, very lucky in that her approach on the special jonin had worked out so well the first time.

The Sannin hummed. "Then I assume this isn't some kind of a meeting between what's left of three generations of Sannin and apprentices," he murmured, getting a shake of the head in return. "What do you need?"

"I want you to teach me fuuinjutsu."

She was surprised when he did not simply dismiss her outright. "Why?"

"I have a project in mind that I don't believe can be done without a sustained seal array," she shrugged, unwilling to part with too many of the details. "If it works, I would not be adverse to sharing it with Konoha." That was both truth and lie—she would share with Naruto, perhaps Anko, but the moment she had what she wanted she would reset herself and drop back to before she'd asked in the first place so as to avoid having to hand over something as potentially useful as what she had in mind to the general ninja populace of Konoha.

It was a long two minutes as Jiraiya thought it over, studying her all the while. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. "I'm going to need more than that. Anko still hang out in that little hole-in-the-wall?"

"It's the only bar that serves dango," Hinata deadpanned.

Jiraiya nodded. "I'll be there tonight," he said before waving his hand in a shooing motion towards her in what was clearly a dismissal. The Hyuuga girl shot a smile towards the blond before hopping the fence and heading back towards the dressing area. "Now, what am I supposed to do with you?"

"Eh?" Naruto asked, pointing at himself. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. Never expected Kakashi of all people to throw you to the wolves like this," he murmured. "Come on. Let's go find a field."

"What was that about a gathering?" Naruto asked, following the Sannin from the hot spring.

Jiraiya gave it a moment of thought before deciding to answer. "As the title implies, there are three of us and we kind of made a name for ourselves at the end of the war before this last one. There's me, Tsunade, and Orochimaru," he felt he did rather well, as he didn't actually spit the name like a curse. "Tsunade's the best medic-nin in the elemental nations, even if she spends half her time too drunk to see straight. You'd like her apprentice, Shizune. I'm one of the few true masters of fuuinjutsu left, along with being a Sage. I'm pretty fair at ninjutsu too, if I don't say so myself."

"What's a sage?"

Shrugging, Jiraiya grinned. "Someone who has truly mastered the world around them," he answered vaguely, earning an eye-roll from the blond. "Your... Yondaime was my apprentice."

Naruto blinked. "You taught the Yondaime?"

"Yep," Jiraiya nodded. "He was actually on my team. Come to think of it, if your girlfriend is who I think she is... Nah, not important right now," he shrugged, but internally made a note to confirm one way or another whether the girl was really Hikari's kid. He knew his female student had had two children, but he had last seen her alive at Yondaime's funeral, and it was to his shame that he had not spent more time with her before her own only a few too short years later. For the Sannin, it was a damn shame that he had had to outlive his students—who he'd loved like the children he'd never had—not once, but twice. He was silent a long moment as they left the beaten path and began to trek towards one of the lesser used training grounds, set back above the monument. Finally, he pulled himself from memories of times long since passed and continued. "Orochimaru... well, in terms of skills, he's a bit of me and Tsunade, except he's got no conscience. It's the reason sensei kicked him out of the village—found out he'd been kidnapping and experimenting on civilians, working on crazy shit like immortality and artificial bloodlines... Not really stuff you need to know or worry about, but it should give you a general idea of just how sick a bastard he is."

Nodding, Naruto asked, "So, who was his apprentice?"

"Anko," the Sannin answered simply. "And look how she turned out. He used her in one of his little experiments—and she let him. He took her with him, when sensei kicked his ass out." Seeing the blond about to ask, he shook his head. "Not my story to tell, kid." On the boy's nod, he continued. "Damn shame, though. I remember Tsunade saying she'd kill to get her hands on a Hyuuga."

"Why's that?"

Sending the boy a questioning look, Jiraiya asked, "Don't they teach you kids anything these days?" He ignored Naruto's protests. "Back before they settled in Konoha, during the wandering ninja days but before the end of the demon-hunting period, Hyuuga were renowned as healers. Their bloodline gives them a huge advantage over anyone else, being able to actually see what's wrong with a patient in most cases. Once they settled in Konoha, for whatever reason there was a shift in attitude and the famed medics of the Hyuuga clan died out within a generation or two, to be replaced by hand-to-hand experts using jyuuken. There's only been one since, but from what Tsunade told me, she was amazing—but that was, oh, almost sixty years ago. It was kind of a scandal at the time, if I'm remembering correctly. Sensei'd probably know more."

Naruto shrugged. "What's that got to do with Hinata, though? Couldn't this Tsunade lady still teach her?"

"Well, if she's Anko's apprentice," the Sannin hedged, only to be cut off by the blond—and found himself oddly grinning at the boy's defense of his girlfriend.

"It's not like she doesn't have time, or isn't willing to learn," he pointed out, but caught himself short of blurting out that she had pretty much all the time in the world. "I don't see why she couldn't do both. It's not like medical training is going to be much more than study and jutsu use, right?"

"You'd be surprised," the Sannin deadpanned, idly rubbing his jaw that was suddenly twitching in remembered agony.

The blond rolled his eyes. "She knows yuurei bunshin, she can do both."

_That _caught the Sannin's attention. "Really?" he asked, getting a nod. "Anko teach her that?"

"Nope," Naruto grinned. "I taught her kage bunshin and she just sort of figured it out herself."

Humming in thought, Jiraiya wore a small grin himself. By the boy's admission, the young Hyuuga girl had to have phenomenal chakra control—likely on par with Tsunade's own at that age, possibly better given the advantages of her blood, dojutsu, and clan. But the fact that she had not simply learned the technique but had reverse-engineered it out of necessity at her age implied that her learning curve had to be ridiculous. The Sannin had no way of knowing that Hinata's particular situation have her an unnatural advantage as far as learning new techniques, but it did not change the fact that she actually _had_ managed to meet his estimated expectations out of sheer stubborn willpower and desperation. "Maybe I'll pass that along to Tsunade if I see her."

* * *

It was the start of Hinata's first lesson with the Sannin, and things were not going quite as well as she'd hoped.

Hinata blinked. "What do you mean by 'I have no idea?'" she asked, feeling strangely like she was repeating herself. At least the face was different, this time.

Jiraiya shrugged. "Okay, maybe that's a bit misleading. I can get you started towards parts of it but you're basically talking about building a computer out of seals."

"Not a whole computer, just parts."

"External data storage and retrieval, control interface, some kind of means to access it—and oh yeah, let's not forget about the part where it's connected directly _to your brain_," the Sannin deadpanned. "That last part isn't exactly my field. Tsunade, maybe," he allowed.

There was a pause between them before Hinata asked, "And what would it take to convince your estranged teammate to teach me what I need to know?"

Jiraiya snorted. "You don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"Think about how valuable this could be for information gathering. Every ninja could potentially become a walking video camera, always recording everything they see, hear, say—even death couldn't silence them so long as there's enough of the seals left to recover—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," the Sannin waved her off. "I'm not saying it ain't valuable. Hell, in my line of work, I'd kill for what you're wanting to make—especially if it could be stuck onto someone without their knowledge. Maybe a seduction and genjutsu expert, a brothel, and some booze..." the Sannin trailed off in thought before shrugging and continuing. "Thing is, it's going to take time and some serious work to actually get it up and running. Then, there's all the little details you have to work out before you really start using it. For instance, have you thought about how you're going to hide something like this? Seals aren't exactly invisible. You can make them smaller—even make them not look like seals at all by not using standard materials to make them—but you can't get rid of visible evidence completely."

"I... hadn't thought of that," the girl admitted.

Jiraiya nodded. "And that's fine. Little details like hiding it could be worked out after you've got a working prototype. It's just that, again, you're talking _years_worth of study just to get yourself up to a level where you have the knowledge to even begin."

Hinata barely stopped herself from grumbling out what was really on her mind—she didn't _have _years. Oh, she had plenty of time to spare studying it, but she was beginning to realize the hard limit of having unlimited time on one's hand and only a human brain to process it all. The truth was, no one could remember every facet of every day unless they were either brain damaged or cursed with edict memory—and while she didn't need quite that level of recall, she did need more than she currently had. She had to have some way of keeping track of things—the current date, events of note and their dates, her own changes to the current timeline and their expected and actual effects, names and faces of people of note, and so much more that she would eventually be unable to sort through by hand. She was already having a hard time remembering where she stood in the current timeline at times—though she suspected that it was likely to stop being as much of a problem now that she was further along, until she needed to reset another event at any rate.

She flinched as a sandal-shod foot stroked her shin once, glancing up to see Anko sending her a knowing look. Apparently, the special jonin had seen and correctly interpreted the look on her face in the short time it had been there. "Looks like you'll just have to tough it out, kiddo—there are no shortcuts."

Hinata nodded, but felt the need to defend herself regardless. "I don't want a shortcut, I just don't like having to waste time." Funny, before this all started, she'd never spent a second thought on all the time in the day wasted on inconsequential things. Now that she had what seemed like all the time in the world, it felt like a crime to waste even a moment of it.

A snort from her right drew her attention back to the Sannin as he tossed back the last of his dish of sake and refilled it. There was something else going on here—something both Anko and the little blond clone of his former student were obviously in on—he was sure. It was there, in the subtle worry the special jonin directed at his potential fuuinjutsu student—_worry_, of all things, from _Anko _of all people—and the not-so-subtle way the blond radiated the annoyance the girl had let slip for only a moment and now simply refused to show. He had been certain there was a thing between his soon-to-be apprentice and Anko's own quasi-apprentice, but the way the three interacted, he'd swear they were a team themselves—closer, perhaps. Given Anko's own personality and disinclination towards trusting others and, to date, outright refusal to either take on a team or student it was saying something that these two seemed to have grown on the special jonin.

The girl had a story, obviously, and a serious _need_ for the seal array she'd asked for help building. The Sannin could only really come up with a small handful of reasons she could have for truly needing the thing. She, or perhaps someone she cared for, had some kind of undisclosed medical condition that caused memory loss—possible, but unlikely unless it was something medical jutsu couldn't treat. She planned to use it against someone—more and less unlikely, given her nature and her clan's own history with seals. Or she needed it as part of some larger seal array—something that would likely get her killed for violating more than one of the unwritten laws governing all fuuinjutsu practitioners. The last option was the least likely, though he wasn't ready to discount it. _'Then again, considering her mother, I should probably give her the benefit of the doubt.'_

It was with that thought in mind that the Sannin spoke. "Alright, I'll do it. I'll teach you as much as you want to know about seals—if you decide to become Konoha's next fuuinjutsu master after I'm gone, I'll help you do it. In return, you'll do three things for me: first, if I ever ask for a favor, you'll oblige." A slow nod was his answer and he continued. "Second," he paused, glancing at the blond at the girl's side before shaking his head. "No, we'll talk about the details of that one later." Another nod, this one faster than the first. "Third..."

Hinata raised an eyebrow as the Sannin considered a moment, a serious expression passing briefly over his face before he shook his head and smiled. "Thirdly, if you get a chance, hit Tsunade with that byakugan of yours and tell me if she's really as wrinkled as I think she is under that genjutsu."

If Anko's snort didn't finish the job of clearing the briefly all-too-serious mood that had descended on the table, her next words did. "Dirty old lecher—get your own set of x-ray eyes, these are mine."

"Don't I get a say in that?" Hinata asked, only to get a dual-toned 'no' in response from both the Sannin and special jonin. "Well, at least Naruto-kun likes me for more than just my eyes."

It was to Hinata's mild dismay that when she turned to regard the blond, it was to find him wearing a disturbingly familiar foxy grin. "So, Hinata-chan... how often _did_you use your eyes for pervy stuff?" the blond teased.

Under the onslaught of laughter from the trio, Hinata saw only one way to undo the damage her lover had done. "Oh, all the time. Why do you think I was always either faint or red in the face any time you were near? I had plenty of imagery to go along with my nightly fantasies, after all," she murmured, causing the blond's mouth to slowly open, only to close and open again rendering him distinctly fish-like—at least, until his face lit in a blush reminiscent of those Hinata had spoken of. It was true, then—the truth, Hinata decided, was even more an effective weapon than a lie at times.

"You," Jiraiya started, only to have to fight off a chuckle and try again. "You know you've corrupted her, right?"

"Irredeemably," Anko admitted, and the Sannin did not fail to hear the note of pride in her tone. "Question is, how much of it is her and how much is her pretending to be me?"

Hinata blinked, sending her sometimes-sensei a suspicious look. "I'll never tell," she finally murmured, smiling.

Shaking his head, the Sannin nursed his drink for a moment before deciding to get started. "So, let's stop wasting time. Naruto, you might as well stick around since you need to know this too if I'm going to be taking you on." Seeing the blond nod, he continued. "Before we even get into the most basics of seals, we need to go over the rules."

"Rules?" the blond asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Laws, really," Jiraiya shrugged. "As in, if you break these, you're dead—either through your own stupidity or because someone else got wind of it and decided to kill you for breaking them." Seeing he had their attention, he shot a glance at Anko. "How much of this do you know?"

"Enough," she answered evasively, drawing a nod from the Sannin. When it became apparent that she wasn't going anywhere, he began.

"There are only two real limitations to fuuinjutsu—the imagination of the one making the seals and the power the seal has to work with. It is with that in mind that these rules were put in place to govern their use. You may not make any seal self-aware or self-replicating. You may not summon stellar matter—there are actually a whole host of rules around summoning alone, but that's one of the biggest. No one wins if you set the world on fire."

"Ouch," the blond winced, drawing a nod from the Sannin.

"You may not swim against the currents of time." Had Jiraiya not been lifting his drink to his lips at that moment, he may have noticed the minute twitch in Hinata's right hand, towards her nearest kunai holster—as it was, he did not, and so continued. "You may not summon and bind things to your will—we don't need another age of demon hunting, not to mention it'd start a war with every species we've got contracts with. You may not bend reality to your perceptions," the Sannin paused as he saw the confused looks on all three of the faces before him.

"I'm assuming you don't mean genjutsu, so what are you saying?" Anko asked—this had not been part of the lecture her former sensei had given her.

Sighing, Jiraiya scratched his head as he thought on how to explain it. "Those last two rules are connected, really," he began, only to stop and begin again after a moment more of thought. "You know why we have the first of those two, right?" he asked, just to be sure.

Anko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but these two don't. I don't blame you," she added after a moment. "It's not something that those of us who know like to talk about—though, I'm surprised you don't know," she said, shooting a look at Hinata. "Then again, knowing your family, maybe it isn't that surprising. For the most part, only summoners, fuuinjutsu masters and their apprentices, the heads of clans with bloodlines, historians or Kage would know. Everyone else pretty much chose to forget, let it fade from the annals of history—it wasn't exactly our proudest moment."

"Stop beating around the bush and spit it out," Naruto finally blurted, drawing a quiet chuckle from Hinata who had begun to feel the same way.

"Alright, fine," the Sannin sighed. "It's like this... during the demon-hunting period, when kami and yokai alike roamed all over the damn place, someone got the bright idea in their head that we—humans, I mean, specifically the predecessors to modern day ninja and the like—shouldn't just destroy them but should try to take their power for our own."

"Kekkai genkai aren't exactly natural," Anko continued, getting a nod from the Sannin. "We were losing and we did a lot of sick shit to put ourselves on even footing with the things we were trying to kill. Eventually, someone worked out a binding seal and, well, it went from there. Some aspiring seal master would use a carefully designed array to summon something compatible—and bear in mind, the biggest threat these things had was that the vast majority of them could take human form—then bind it, then rape it until it produced offspring. The three most well-known successes are the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuuga—though no one but those clans know the exact details, the results were pretty obvious. Mokuton, Sharingan, Byakugan... The only reason we even have summons now is that we managed to kill out the worst of the bunch and struck deals with the rest."

"You forgot one," Jiraiya interrupted quietly, getting a raised eyebrow for his trouble. "Rinnegan."

Anko blinked, then blinked again. "Wait. You mean that whole story about the Sage of Six Paths—?"

"Mostly true," Jiraiya confirmed. "No idea where the Rinnegan came from, but I know what it did—it tore the Jyuubi asunder, creating the bijuu as we know them today, and ended the Demon Hunting Era."

"Okay, but they're all dead," Anko asked, only to shoot the Sannin a questioning look. "Right?"

It took the elder ninja a moment before he finally nodded. "Yeah." Shaking his head, he picked up where Anko had left off. "That's why we have the first of those two rules—to prevent a war with the remaining clans, who have only grown stronger in the years since the end of that war. The second, well... There's a reason the Uchiha liked to brag they were the most powerful of the great clans. No one but the Uchiha really know the how or why, but whatever they did was a bit different than the usual summon, bind, and rape method—I've got my suspicions, but no real proof." He shrugged, taking a sip of his drink to buy a moment of thought, then continued. "The Sharingan is too good to be true. What do we know about it?"

Taking the question as the invitation it was, Naruto answered, "It can copy jutsu."

"It slows the wielder's perception of time," Hinata added, getting a nod.

"Both of those are at the lowest level of activation, though," Anko clarified, raising eyebrows from the pair and drawing a nod from the Sannin. "At the three-tomoe stage, supposedly it can predict movement somehow—"

Naruto's fingers snapping draw the attention of the others at the table as he began nodding. "Yeah, that must be how Kakashi-sensei did that creepy thing with Zabuza-teme!"

"Echoed him until he started doing things before Zabuza did?" Anko asked, getting a nod in answer. "Yeah, it's a pretty common tactic for unnerving someone. I've heard rumors that there's a second part to that..." she trailed off, looking to the Sannin for confirmation.

"They liked to claim to be a clan specialized in fire-element jutsu, but the truth is genjutsu was their strongest art—second only to the Kurama clan, who could trap even an Uchiha with a full three-tomoe Sharingan within their techniques. Makes you wonder if it was really a coincidence that their clan's population began a steady, sharp decline the moment they settled in Konoha," the Sannin mused, drawing a knowing look from Anko. "But all of that is simply what a stage-one Sharingan is capable of. There haven't been any stage-two Sharingan in Konoha since Uchiha Madara had it out with Shodai at the valley of the end, at least to my knowledge. Though, it would explain Itachi."

"Stage-two?" Hinata asked, trying to figure out how Jiraiya's second rule could possibly apply to this second-stage bloodline activation.

"Mangekyo," Jiraiya supplied. "Along with an across-the-board power increase to all of the dojutsu's base abilities, it possesses at least two unique abilities: the ability to make weapons of ideas and make the wielder's world-view reality. That's what the second rule applies to—and it's why the Sharingan is too good to be true. Only something truly inhuman and with the power to back it up is capable of forcing reality to bend to its will—for the Uchiha to be able to do so with a simple dojutsu..."

Anko's quiet chuckle drew the group's attention to where she sat staring into her cup of sake. "So, that's why sensei had such a hard-on for Itcahi," she surmised, getting a nod from Jiraiya.

"Most likely, if he hadn't activated it before he left Konoha, then killing his clan would have."

"Alright, what the hell are you talking about?" Naruto grumbled, shooting a glare between Sannin and special jonin.

Rolling her eyes, the special jonin answered. "I know you had to have at least heard the stories. Fire that burns for seven days, Susanoo and Orochi, the red moon... All things out of old, old legends."

"What about them?" the blond asked, confirming that he had at least paid that much attention—the tales had been one of the least boring parts of his classes, after all.

"I think I see," Hinata began quietly, drawing a look from the Sannin urging her to continue. "Ameterasu's flame, the fire that burns for seven days—it's an idea that's been passed down for I don't even know how long, but the Mangekyo can... what, summon it?"

"Probably," the Sannin admitted. "It was decided that the Uchiha clan was too powerful for their own good, so trying to duplicate those feats was forbidden and the Senju clan gathered allies to itself went to war with the Uchiha and their allies—until eventually, Hashirama and Madara called a truce to end thirty years of bloodshed between their clans and the place where they came to terms eventually became Konoha."

"And a few generations later, the rumors die down and Uchiha start dying off left and right, until that final night," Anko continued. "Now, all that's left are Itcahi—gods only know where he is—and Sasuke. And in case you haven't noticed, the brat's never known a hard day in his life since Itachi offed the rest of the clan."

"I thought it was just pity," Hinata mused, drawing a slow nod from Naruto.

Sannin and special jonin shared an eye-roll. "No. It's blatant favoritism and an attempt to buy his continued loyalty. Even if he never awakens the Mangekyo—whatever it is—then he's still a valuable asset. In the Uchiha's pants lies all of Konoha's hopes for future jutsu thieves."

It was Naruto's turn to snort. "Fat chance of that." Seeing he had their attention, he explained. "He'd have to like girls, first." Not that he thought Sasuke was homosexual—or would really care if he was, as he felt it was none of his business—but he'd spent enough time in the company of the Uchiha to note that the boy paid both men and women the same attention. That is, absolutely none unless it were of some benefit to himself or was in some way related to a mission objective. Beyond that, the Uchiha may as well have been a chair for all the notice he took of either sex.

"That... wouldn't be an issue," the Sannin murmured. When the pair of genin sent him a questioning look, he refused to elaborate further. After all, it wasn't as though putting the sole surviving member of a ninja clan with either a bloodline or particularly valuable techniques into protective custody and then forcibly using them as breeding stock was unheard of.

"History lesson over?" Anko asked the pair of genin, getting a shrug from Naruto and a shake of the head from Hinata.

"For now, but I'd like to hear more later," the girl admitted.

For his part, the blond grinned. "Eh, I think I got most of it. Basically, the Sharingan's a cheating, jutsu-stealing technique that everybody wants but nobody wants to put up with the Uchiha to have it—and we can't just do the same thing it does with seals because it'll piss off everyone else if it gets out."

"Close enough," Jiraiya grinned. "Now, where was I?"

* * *

Hinata yawned as she and Naruto waited at the base of the tower in the pre-dawn light. Shortly after a clock somewhere deeper in the village struck the hour, the doors to the tower parted and a pair of figures—one much taller than the other—strode from the tower's confines. Hinata smiled as, beside her, Naruto shot a grin at the shorter of the two figures—only to turn a quick glare at the taller of them as he spoke. "Well, I wasn't expecting a welcoming committee. How about you, Haku?" the gravely baritone of Momochi Zabuza's voice rolled across the small square, just beginning to buzz with morning activity as Konoha began to stir to life for the day.

"It is not an unwelcome sight, Zabuza-sama," the younger of the two admitted, earning a chuckle from the missing-nin—former missing-nin, now that Hinata spotted the fresh Konoha headbands the pair had been issued.

"Well, go on then, before the brat pops and starts yelling our ears off," the elder of the pair shoved his apprentice forward, sending the younger ninja stumbling a few paces. "I've got to see a guy about a thing. I'll catch up with you later," the former missing-nin explained vaguely before disappearing in a swirl of mist, leaving his apprentice to fend for himself.

_'Her_self,' Hinata reminded herself as she watched the ice user straighten herself and shoot an uncertain glance in the direction her sensei/master had disappeared to. Deciding to address the growing awkwardness in the taller girl's eyes, Hinata smiled and stepped forward in a small bow. "I apologize if I offended you when we first met," she deferred. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata and it's a pleasure to meet you..." she trailed off expectantly.

"Ah, Haku," the girl before her answered, returning her bow and bringing a small smile to the Hyuuga girl's lips—manners and politeness rarely failed to set people at ease. She did not, however, miss the complete lack of a surname—which told her the girl before her had neither accepted her sensei's name nor did she lay any claim to her own family name. There wasn't as much social stigma associated with being clanless in the present day as there had been only a few generations ago, but it was still there nonetheless, which meant the girl would likely have a hard time making lasting friends and allies in the coming years—in addition to her association with a former fugitive missing-nin, her bloodline once the information was made public, and her status as a foreigner to Konoha.

_'Well, let's see what we can do about that,' _Hinata mused, even as Naruto spoke up beside her. "So, have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet," the reserved brunette admitted, drawing a grin from the blond—one which could mean only one thing, really, given his almost unnatural love for all things ramen.

Snagging the taller girl's hand and somehow missing her immediate blush, Naruto began leading them deeper into the district. "Ichiraku's, then!"

Noticing the plaintive look sent her way, Hinata smiled consolingly. "There's no helping it when he gets like this," she murmured, drawing a sigh of resignation from the brunette. "You were accepted into the ninja corps?"

"Yes," Haku answered quietly. Even if there hadn't been much of a choice, it was still better than the alternative—either death, or a life spent on the road with her master, constantly looking over their shoulders for hunter-nin, bounty hunters, ninja of other major villages looking to cash in on their good fortune, other missing-nin... pretty much the entirety of the ninja world, really. "I've been instated as a genin."

Naruto sent them a backwards glance. "Really? Thought for sure they'd make you a chuunin."

"Well, no," Hinata answered, drawing the blond's attention away from the growing crowd around them for a moment as he navigated the well-traveled route to his favorite noodle stand. "They would have to make sure of her loyalty first."

"'Her?'" the blond asked, at the same moment Haku let out a quiet 'erk.'

"Oops?" the Hyuuga girl smiled, though it was one Haku found oddly similar to those she'd occasionally seen on the blond's face. "Sorry," she murmured, getting a look of consternation in answer from the brunette and a chuckle from the blond. Deciding to take the subject away from the ice-nin's gender, Hinata continued on her original track. "My guess is that Zabuza-san was given the rank of a full jonin, though?"

On Haku's nod, Naruto asked, "Wait, why just give the rank to tall, dark, and creepy but not to Haku...-chan?"

Internally, Hinata beamed at the blush on the girl in question. _'Was I ever really that obvious?' _she wondered. It was good, though. Now that she was sure of the ice-nin's gender and apparent crush on her Naruto, the vague ideas she'd had since first learning of the girl with the ridiculously powerful bloodline solidified. Anko would have been proud—or terrified, once the thought processed that Hinata could easily use the same process to simply go back earlier in their lives and steal her own loyalty. It wasn't exactly theft, Hinata rationalized. After all, she fully intended to be everything the other girl wanted—friend, confidant, even lover if it came down to it—so long as it meant that she had access to Haku's bloodline.

It was a terrible thought, but not uncommon—and it was a far sight better than what had been intended for Hinata herself after her kidnapping. It was nothing less than others of various clans had done time and time again throughout history, including her own clan. That is why the thought of selectively breeding both her own Byakugan and Haku's hyouton into future descendants—with the potential for Naruto's Kyuubi-enhanced stamina and possibly healing if the rumors surrounding the very rare children of jinchuuriki were true—had sat idle in Hinata's mind as something to play with at a later date, if she ever got the opportunity. A byakugan user capable of inflicting precision icy death on any and everything within his or her range of sight, and backed up by a ridiculously large well of chakra? Entire clans had been wiped out for the opportunity for less—it was simply the sad, hard reality of the world they lived in. Eventually, once they got to know one another better, Hinata would bring the idea to the other girl and see how it went over. Even if it went poorly, it would not hurt to make an ally of the hyouton user.

"Anything less than full jonin rank would have been both a waste and an insult," Hinata answered the blond's question. "Giving Zabuza-san the rank of jonin is also incentive to keep him working for Konoha—he's likely already been given his first month's salary and has been assigned living quarters until he can afford a place of his own."

"Hinata...-san is correct, Naruto-kun," the ice-user confirmed—though she paused in uncertainty on the honorific as she wasn't quite sure where she stood with the younger girl—as the blond slowed and abruptly changed course.

The scent of noodles and broth wafted over them as Naruto lead them into Ichiraku's and the trio took their seats, a girl to either side of the blond. "You don't have to use the honorific if you don't want to, or you can use -chan if you prefer," Hinata answered the unspoken question from the brunette, getting a nod in acknowledgment as they were joined shortly by Ichiraku Ayame from across the counter.

"Good morning Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan. Who's your new friend?" she asked, an easy smile on her face and eyes alight at the possibility for gossip—after all, the newcomer was cute and Hinata obviously had no objection to her joining them. _'Then again, a ninja wouldn't,'_ Ayame mused, her mind turning back to her own short time in the academy before her mother passed and she had willingly given up her dream to help her father. Ninja, in her experience, were odd at the best of times. She knew it came from a mentality drilled into them since day one, but sometimes, from the outside, it was a bit creepy. _Know that today may be your last._ It was one of the most repeated tenants of shinobi life. It was a leftover from well before ninja were truly called 'ninja' and still just as true today, even in their relative peace—no one knew when a mission could go bad, or if war would break out next week, or even if someone would decide to somehow spontaneously summon and/or release the Kyuubi well behind their defensive lines _again_. In short, it boiled down to one simple rule: if someone asks you out, _you say yes._ That statement only made the Uchiha fan club's folly all the more obvious—for Sasuke to show no interest whatsoever was _worse _that if he had abused his privileges and attempted to bed ninety percent of the female population. At least then, his line was less likely to be lost. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Ayame passed around tea and made an effort to get to know her favorite blond's friends.

While Ayame and Naruto coaxed the strangely shy hyouton user into conversation, Hinata let her mind wander. There were things she needed to do, now that she was beyond the first stage of the examination—the least of which was trying to come up with some way of both countering whatever Naruto was likely to come up with along with what he was capable of at the moment while trying to impress whoever it was that made the ranking decisions. The final outcome of the exam didn't really matter too much to her at this point, save that chuunin were typically given higher clearance to learn more techniques than genin were allowed to, which would give her more to work with and sooner. As far as she was concerned, so long as she managed to impress Naruto, she didn't really care whether she won or lost—after all, no fight between the two of them would escalate into a life-or-death battle so she would never truly have the same desperate need to defeat the blond that she'd felt against her cousin. Naruto had never broken her heart as Neji had, after all—in either the literal sense or metaphorical. Neji had betrayed her—tossed aside familial bonds and tried to kill her, and had succeeded in the attempt. Naruto, on the other hand, never would—he was strange like that. He freely gave both loyalty and trust—both precious, rare, and treasured things in the ninja world and so very, very fragile—and asked only the same in return, and once given she knew she blond would go to the ends of the Earth for those few friends he had.

First and foremost, Hinata _needed_ the seal array she had convinced Jiraiya into helping create. Sadly, she feared it truly would be years in the making—even if those years only passed for her. Since the seal itself was out of her grasp at the moment, she would need to put herself on the shortest path to attaining it—which meant splitting her focus across the two fields it would draw most heavily from, fuuinjutsu and medical jutsu. By gaining the perverted Sannin's help, she had the first half of the seal covered—that is, learning how to create the individual seals that would go into the final array—which meant she needed to get started on the half he couldn't teach her. Her first option was out of the question, at least at the moment, with Tsunade well beyond her reach. Besides that, she didn't expect her byakugan and a willingness to learn to get her into the good graces of the princess of the Sannin by themselves—and that meant she would likely need some sort of background in medical knowledge before she even approached Tsunade, if she ever even got the chance. Past experience had taught her that the hospital was always short staffed and _always _looking for potential new recruits—it was how she'd learned how to make healing salves and creams, after all.

Making a mental note to send a clone off to the hospital to see about getting her started there, she turned a brief smile to Ayame as the older girl refilled her tea. Once she had the seal—and obviously the requisite knowledge that went with it—then what? The pair beside her could lead to the endgame—that is, one day starting her own family away from the Hyuuga—but between then and now, what? And where, or rather when, would she truly start? Along the way, she would certainly have to do something about Hyuuga clan affairs—specifically, that godsforsaken seal. She had promised their mother she would look after Hanabi, and she would be damned before one of those crusty old bastards calling themselves elders branded either herself or her little sister with what amounted to a slave seal. Jiraiya could potentially help with the seal itself, but sorting out the rest of the clan would ultimately fall to her—and she would never be able to do it alone. She would need help from both within the clan and without—which meant somehow swaying the currently branded Hyuuga, of whom there were many, over to her side. Even with the unsealed branch house on her side, the inevitable conflict would be bloody...

Hinata paused as a slow smile spread over her face. The Hyuuga clan elders would obviously have to die for the rest of the clan to be free, of that she was certain. The flaw in her thinking had been that they would all have to be taken down at once in a single, bloody coup. But given her particular abilities, she could potentially just go back to a point in time somewhere during her childhood and begin eliminating them one by one over the next decade or so. Oh, she would have to go prepared, for sure—it wouldn't do to go in without both some way of doing the deed and making sure she remained undetected in the process. _'And if I'm going back that far...'_ the girl mused, her smile softening somewhat as she finished the thought. _'I may as well save mother in the process.'_

"Hinata-chan, you okay?" a voice asked from her right, even as she felt herself jostled slightly.

"Hm?" the girl asked, pulled away from her thoughts by the very blond at her side. Looking into his face, the smile grew that much wider as she realized what she had to do. She couldn't simply go back and focus on setting her clan right while ignoring those around her—she owed Naruto far too much to let him relive the same lonely childhood again. Movement from behind the blond caught her eye and pale violet eyes met brown—it seemed she would have to find some way to get to the hyouton user earlier too, then. "I'm fine, Naruto-kun. Everything is... fine." Everything _would_ be fine—she would see to it herself.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I decided to write a story where yes, the sharingan really is that powerful—but given that in canon they're pretty much magic godking eyeballs as far as explanations go, I decided to invent something. Or, rather, find something that fit and run with it—and so, we get bits of the Type-moon universe used to fill in the holes in Kishimoto's plot. Honestly, the way he uses half this stuff, it's like he wanted to do exactly that, except couldn't figure out a way to do it and not get sued into oblivion. If my decision to skip using half-assed 'canon' back-story and use something that seemed to fit better to me offends, upsets, or unbalances the story for you, I apologize for wasting your time.

If you've decided to continue, the rest is a bit of a disclaimer. Nowhere will there be a copy of Unlimited Blade Works turn up, at least not in this story. Something akin to Arucied's unnamed reality marble, maybe. Despite being stated as ridiculously rare, people with the things just seem to keep popping out of the woodwork in various Type-moon works, most of which we can assume are canon and related. I can see two circumstances where one would turn up in my own little corner of the universe: ridiculously powerful inhuman creatures or things related to them, or seals. Most of the Sharingan's tricks are variants on a reality marble (tsukiyomi) or conceptual weapons (ameterasu)—also, the area where bijuu and container meet, I'd class as some sort of pseudo reality-marble where neither of them is in complete control. At least, that's what I'm using here.

As you can see, Hinata has two clear primary objectives right from the start to work towards—Naruto and her mother—along with a whole host of secondary and tertiary goals. And yet another glimpse into the underlying thought processes and societal standards ninja live by/with that give those on the outside pause, and Hinata's steady deviance even from that norm.

Edit: A reviewer was kind enough to point out that apparently either I've been slipping or TvTropes really is more subversive than it seems at first glance, as apparently I used one word for word. If I do this again, please let me know. It's... embarrassing. Thanks, Lord of Pages.


	4. 0300

**The Life and Times**

* * *

_"My largest regret is for my friends and my family. I sought to use them, even as I loved them—perhaps I simply took more from my old clan than I realized, or cared to admit. From some, I took the skills I would need survive in the world I'd found myself in. From others, I meant to secure a future where we could all come home alive at the end of the day. From Naruto, I learned how to truly love—selflessly, without expectation of anything but love in return. He has a way of complicating simple plans... Needless to say, I wound up promising them all that future. I don't break my promises, but sometimes you aren't given a choice."_

* * *

"Er, I apologize Iryo-sensei, I didn't exactly come prepared to work," Hinata murmured, causing the semi-retired medic-nin/doctor to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, why's that, girl?" he asked, sending her a smile as he paused with one hand still on the door handle. "After all, the best way to learn is to do."

In hindsight, Hinata should have seen this coming, given her previous experience with the man. At nearly seventy, Nanabe Iryo was well beyond what was typically retirement age for ninja in Konoha—and a man who seemed like he belonged in an entirely different generation. The man had been her family doctor as long as she could remember, had been her mother's and likely her grandmother's doctor as well. It was this man she had come to when she had originally looked into learning how to create healing salves and creams for her team, once she'd been assigned to Team Eight. Iryo-sensei had only one way of doing things, and that was hands-on—even at his advanced age, the man seemed to practically vibrate with energy and simply refused to stay in one place for longer than a few minutes at a time. Now, she regretted simply sending a clone instead of coming herself, and it would be both embarrassing and potentially an insult to the man she wished to learn from to confess as much. Still, she couldn't simply lie to him if she expected to get anywhere.

"I... I'm just a clone," the girl admitted, sending the old man's other fuzzy brow straight into his hairline.

Blinking, the old medic-nin asked, "What kind of clone, girl?"

"Yuurei-bunshin."

_That _had his attention, apparently. "Is that so?" On her nod, his smile widened. "That's good—means you've a good grasp on not just your chakra control, but the way your chakra flows. It'll help." He paused a moment before scratching his chin in thought. "So, where's the real one?"

Well, he had taken the news better than she'd expected, at least. Deciding honesty had served her well so far, she answered, "Training for the coming exam."

"You're in that?" he asked, getting a nod. "In your first year as a genin, to boot. Well, I'll be. So, who're you fighting?"

"Naruto-kun," she murmured, suddenly embarrassed.

"Uzumaki, eh?" he asked, getting a nod. "It's a good match," he murmured, sending her eyes shooting up to lock onto his. He clearly wasn't talking about the exam, which meant that apparently she really was just as obvious as she'd accused Haku of being. "Your mother had the biggest crush on his father, when they were both genin," he trailed off with a wistful look before shaking his head. "Well... if you're planning to split your attention three ways to try and beat him, you're going to need some help. I can't have you coming in here without enough chakra to perform the necessary techniques, not to mention putting that bloodline of yours to good use." Taking an exaggerated look around his office, he locked the door and took a seat behind his desk. "Have a seat, girl," he ordered, pointing her to the chair across the desk from his own. Once she was seated, he began pulling out writing utensils. "Typically, you wouldn't learn this until you were either a chuunin or had been given permission by your jonin-sensei. Since I'm a jonin, I suppose I can give that permission..."

"What am I learning, sensei?" the girl asked, though a look at the paper on his desk gave her a pretty good idea.

"Well, surely you've seen and used a storage scroll or two, right?" he asked, getting a nod. "Tell me, what is a medic's most valuable resource, aside from their know-how?"

Turning the question over for a moment, Hinata finally answered, "Their own chakra. Without it, they're pretty limited in what they can do."

"Precisely," the old man answered, continuing with his doodle. "Unfortunately, those with the control to perform medical jutsu often lack the raw chakra capacity to do so for any prolonged period of time. To counteract this, most carry soldier pills and the like, to temporarily offset that lack—unfortunately, soldier pills are a poor substitute at best, and medics rarely have time for training their chakra capacity up the way normal ninja do. So, somewhere along the way, someone came up with a way around that limitation: seals. By treating a patient within a seal array, an entire group can share the load that would otherwise fall to a single medic during some delicate process or other that would otherwise be ruined by the conflicting actions of a dozen medics hovering over a single patient, conflicting chakra and all—we can even make requests for chakra donation by normal ninja to fuel the seals, so long as one of us is around around to control how that chakra is applied. Honestly, if you ask me, I think it ought to be mandatory for genin to donate at least once a week—it'd familiarize them with the environment here, maybe sway a few over to joining us, and build their own reserves."

Hinata nodded—it made sense, given that the majority of the medical corps was made up of kunoichi, who typically had a lower chakra capacity but higher overall control than their male counterparts. "But what about in the field?"

"Clever," the old man praised, tapping his now completed drawing. "In the field, a medic-ninja wouldn't have access to clean-rooms with ready-made seal arrays, where we can just drop a patient and start dumping chakra into capacitor seals. No, you have to rely on what you have on hand—and you won't always have time to scribble out a quick array. Sometimes, a patient requires immediate action—there will be no time to move them nor time to prepare. That's where this comes in." _This _turned out to be a small seal array, laid out in its open—or unsealed—form. "What this does is siphon off a small percentage of your chakra over the course of the day and while you sleep, storing that energy for later use when you actually need it. By default, it's set at ten percent draw—meaning, over the course of a day, it will draw out ten percent of your total chakra output and store it. Within ten days, you'll have a full day's worth of chakra just waiting to be used. Or, if you can bear it, you can change this part here," here, he pointed to a particular section, containing both numbers and the typical seals, "and set it as high as you can stand it. If you don't mind being tired and hungry all the time, you could safely set it as high as thirty or so percent."

"This... this is amazing," the girl murmured, carefully lifting the seal array to study it closer. "What happens when you release it?"

Grinning, Iryo-sensei sat back in his chair. "Well, there are some safeguards built in. It won't just dump everything it has into your chakra coils at once—that'd be bad. What it _will _do is replenish what you've lost until you hit about ninety percent chakra capacity, then go idle until you use more chakra. You can make it charge automatically, or you can activate it manually—though that one is set to activate once you hit twenty percent. Now, you'll want to be careful where you put that—you can't just put it on your arm or something. Unlike other storage or summoning seals, it's going to be connected directly to your chakra coils. Make sure the input/output seal is placed directly over a tenketsu and, optimally, it should be over one of the eight gates—forehead, heart, or stomach would be best, really."

"I—I don't know what to say," Hinata admitted quietly. "Thank you, sensei." She had an idea where she would put it—given that she'd seen a similar seal in action for years now, off and on, applied to her blond lover. Either there, or directly over her heart—it was a toss-up, really. The lower seal position she knew worked just fine, but the higher position would hide the seal from prying eyes, placing most of the seal in the area between her breasts. Of course, if her suspicions were correct, Tsunade's was on her forehead—if she had to make an educated guess as to what that diamond-shaped tatoo was based on the few photographs of the woman.

"Don't worry about it," he waved her concern off. "Now, put that away and come along. If you can't use jutsu today, you can at least watch me while I do. And tomorrow, send a clone with enough chakra to be useful!"

"Yes, sensei," she agreed, quickly folding the sheet of paper and pocketing it before following the old doctor out and into the hallway.

* * *

Clones. Hundreds of clones. That was Naruto's biggest advantage over herself and everyone else—the fact that the boy had enough chakra to become a literal army of one with a single seal. Give him a single jutsu to combine it with, and the effects were anywhere from unpredictable at best—as was the case with his anti-pervert jutsu—to downright lethal. Kage bunshin, in and of itself, wasn't that great a technique—simply because it required too much chakra to cast. Naruto, however, had chakra in spades and could use the technique to its true potential—as a force multiplier. His battle with Kiba had been a prime example of just what the boy could do with just two techniques in tandem—kage bunshin and shunshin. And unlike most people in the same situation, Naruto wouldn't go easy on her just because she was female and they were lovers—he rightly suspected she would be upset if he gave anything less than his best. That meant, even if she had no idea what else to expect, the blond would rely heavily on his fall-back technique of kage bunshin and anything he did was bound to be on a massive scale.

Somehow, she would have to deny him that technique and force him to fight on her level—which is why she now sat on a deserted training field, far from prying eyes, staring at her own clone standing less than a meter away. There were a multitude of ways to destroy a shadow clone, but most of them boiled down to a single concept: disrupt the chakra matrix holding the thing together and it will pop like a soap bubble. Kiba's fight with Naruto had proven that trying to eliminate them by hand was futile at best and suicidally stupid at worst—the blond could turn them out faster than anyone could hope to keep up, and once surrounded, he would just drag his opponents down and crush them. That left jutsu as the obvious answer, but the problem again lie in the fact that Naruto could produce clones at a ridiculous rate and in the nature of kage bunshin—when dispelled, the vast majority of the chakra used to create the clone returned to the creator, along with the memories the clone had gained. A battle of attrition using wide-area jutsu to deny the boy clones was a bad idea—she would run dry long before Naruto even broke a sweat. Clones could, of course, simply be dispelled—but then, one ran across a different sort of problem. In order to simply dispel a clone with a chakra pulse, the way one would with an area effect genjutsu, one had to actually fight against the clone's own internal chakra—another impossibility for her, considering Naruto's clones each had enough chakra to perform their own techniques.

What she needed was a fast, wide-area, low-chakra usage jutsu to provide area denial to the boy's army of clones. She had quickly learned during their sparring matches in the time leading up to the first stage of the exam, preparing him for the inevitable fight with Kiba, that jyuuken bypassed a vast majority of the issues other techniques faced in destroying a kage bunshin—it was a needle to the boy's soap bubbles. Unfortunately, jyuuken required her to be in hand-to-hand range and could not provide the type of suppressive fire she needed—even the sixty-four palms technique could be overrun, given enough clones on the boy's part. _'Well,'_ the girl mused, sharing a glance with her clone, who was apparently thinking along the same wavelength. _'If I can't use something I already know, I'll just have to make something up.'_

"Start from something we know, or can duplicate, and work our way out?" asked the clone, getting a nod. "We're obviously looking to duplicate jyuuken over a wide area, right?"

"It seems like the best bet," the original nodded. "A ranged jyuuken attack would have what we needed, but would be costly."

The clone blinked. "Is that even possible? I mean, I'm you, so I know what you do—and even I'm kind of doubtful."

"We won't know until we try," the original grinned—causing her twin to pale at recognizing it for Naruto's own. "Hold still."

"Are you sure we can't just talk about this?" the clone asked, growing nervous as her sister's dojutsu activated, the sitting girl raising a hand and pointing it her direction. "Or maybe go find Anko." She twitched, feeling the obvious first attempt from her creator and seeing the dim light of chakra at the tip of her finger momentarily. She flinched visibly at the next attempt, watching as chakra harmlessly wafted away from the original's finger like smoke. Despite herself, she murmured, "It needs some sort of form. Can't just throw it out there or it'll dissipate, I guess."

"That's what I was thinking," the original admitted. "A chakra shell, or a conduit of some sort." She paused, lowering her hand somewhat and letting her mind drift. "Where have we seen a wide-area, delicate-control technique that required that sort of thing?"

After a moment of thought, the name came to both of them at the same time. "Kankuro," they murmured, shooting each other a smile as the clone continued. "Start with chakra strings. It should be easy—I mean, it's the simplest form of shell-type technique."

Given the number of times she'd seen the technique performed, her control over her own chakra, familiarity with what may as well have been the first stage of the technique in jyuuken, and the fact that she could actually see what she was doing with her dojutsu it was no surprise to either Hinata or her clone that she managed to reverse-engineer the technique for creating chakra strings with only a few hours of effort. Using what they had to manipulate objects to Kankuro's level would likely take years of practice, but she didn't actually need to do that. All she really needed was a delivery system, after all. So it was that Hinata quit the field for the night and made her way back to her lover's apartment, shortly after impaling her clones on no less than two proof-of-concept techniques—both a ranged burst of jyuuken, and a sort of jyuuken pulse sent across a chakra string connected to a clone. It was as sleep claimed her, tired and sweaty and utterly relaxed in the arms of her favorite blond, that the two techniques solidified into something that made her smile—after all, Naruto was fond of jutsu combinations, so why shouldn't she use them to her own advantage?

* * *

"Remind me again why we're doing this, Naruto-kun?" the brunette asked, even as she flung another senbon at the boy in question.

Naruto grinned, watching as yet another clone popped in his place, having replaced him in a kawarimi at the last moment. "Because Hinata-chan's sneaky, and ridiculously fast."

"She is, at that," Haku nodded. The trio had spent enough time the previous day familiarizing themselves with each other's styles of fighting that the elder girl could admit the young Hyuuga had some serious speed. Not as much as herself, even without her mirrors, but it was on up there—far and away from what meager speed the blond possessed without shunshin. In a straight fight between just the two of them, Naruto would likely lose—unless he called upon that terrifying red chakra, which she doubted he would do. Hinata was faster, and the jyuuken style would allow her to cut the blond off from his chakra, leaving him helpless. The problem with that was that no fight with Naruto would ever be just against the one blond—it would be against Naruto, and anywhere from one to a hundred copies thereof. Haku knew it, having seen it herself—she also knew how to counter it. Deny the boy clones, and you could cut off his biggest advantage. Hinata obviously knew it as well, but lacked the means to do so. If Haku were to guess, she'd say that was what the girl was working on in secret. It was funny, then, that Naruto had specifically asked her to help him practice against a technique that would deny him clones—funny, and a little sad, in that it showed her just how close the two were that they knew each other so well. Such closeness meant there was little chance of gaining any of the blond's affection for herself. Then again, she wouldn't know until she asked. She would just have to wait until she got to know the Hyuuga girl a bit better first. The boy had too much potential to simply pass up.

Haku was shaken from her thoughts by an orange blur suddenly closing into hand to hand range—only to multiply into a dozen copies of himself. A thought, and those dozen were cut down by an equal number of icy senbon she'd prepared in advance, as she simultaneously parried the blond's kick and jumped back to gain some breathing room, pulling the field full of frozen needles at her back along with her. "Hinata would have shut down your leg for that," she chided the blond, reminding him again of his lover's biggest advantage over him. "I'm going to start poking you with senbon if you keep that up."

Naruto's grin caught her off guard. "So do it," he encouraged. "It'll force me to pay more attention to your hands."

"Okay," the girl murmured, pulling a pair of prepared senbon from the air. While somewhat leery of stabbing the blond with pointy things, she'd done it before and she already knew he could heal faster than humanly possible. Seemingly limitless chakra capacity, an unrivaled healing ability, and good looking to top it off—from a biological perspective, the blond was good stock. It didn't hurt at all that he was actually likable and had a death-before-surrender attitude. It would be fair to say she was a bit smitten with the boy. Combined with her own hyouton bloodline, any offspring between the two of them would be downright deadly from even a very young age. Hinata was very obviously taken with him, though—and Haku had no idea whether or not the younger girl would be open to the suggestion of simply sharing. The girl was dangerous in a way she couldn't quite place, and while her observations of their occasional interactions with the special jonin that seemed to be standing in as the pair's surrogate sensei lead her to believe Hinata wasn't the jealous type, it was still a risk to her friendships with both of them.

"Oi, blondie," a voice called across the field, interrupting their practice and pulling Haku from her worries. Brown eyes met honey gold across the field, and Haku recognized their interruption as one of the individuals in T&I she and Zabuza had dealt with during their month-long interrogation and integration and the woman she'd apparently summoned by thought. Mitarashi Anko grinned, waving them to follow before turning and heading off the field. "Come on, take the rest of the night off. And bring your friend."

"Is Hinata coming?" the boy asked, following along and pulling a pair of senbon out of his arm.

Anko rolled her eyes as the pair drew closer. "What do you think?"

Naruto snorted. "I think it's been a week—you're looking to get her drunk and take advantage of us."

"Didn't hear you complaining," the woman smirked, snagging the blond and pulling him to her side in something akin to a choke hold, before grinding her knuckles down into his head.

Haku blinked. _'Then again, perhaps I was worrying over nothing,' _she mused. "Ah, where are we going?"

"Pub?" the blond asked, finally extricating himself from the older kunoichi's hold.

"Pub," Anko nodded. "So, how's your training coming along?"

Shrugging, Naruto answered, "Pretty good. It'd be better, if I had more jutsu."

"Until she closes range and shuts down your ability to do them, when you completely fail to disengage in time," Haku countered, earning a groan from the blond.

"Which is why I've got you to teach me how, Haku-chan," the boy murmured, earning a blush that he failed to notice but Anko did not.

Quickly removing her blush, Haku suggested, "Perhaps you should stop using them altogether?"

"Maybe," the blond admitted. "But there's no way she could keep me from getting even a few out, right?"

Chuckling, Anko shook her head. "If you think that, you don't know her very well then."

"Crap."

"Pretty much," Anko admitted. "Girl's determined, I'll give her that." With a grin, she added, "Of course, knowing her most likely move, you can prepare for it—which you've already begun, you just need some way of either neutralizing what she comes up with or some way around it. Or you could just accept it and figure out some way of surprising her, even given those limitations."

Watching the pair toss ideas back and forth drew a smile to Haku's face—it was almost as though the special jonin were the boy's own sensei, and not simply a mutual friend. She had met the boy's own sensei, and while she respected and admired Hatake Kakashi as a ninja, she had no idea as to his teaching methods. His genin were obviously loyal to the man and respected his orders as their commander, but there was something missing between them that was present between the blond, the Hyuuga, and the special jonin. The Uchiha would never truly be the comrade Naruto needed or wanted, too caught up in his own plans for revenge—against who, she couldn't say, but she'd seen the look often enough on Zabuza's face to know it at a glance. Haruno could have been something, had she focused on being a ninja and not on trying to attract the Uchiha—she had brains, but common sense seemed to be in short supply. And Naruto, well, the blond was too stubborn to quit but too prideful to figure out how to convince his team to actually work as a unit instead of a group of individuals with the same objective.

With Hinata and Anko, though, things were different. Anko actually seemed close with both the blond and the Hyuuga, as opposed to Kakashi's aloof attitude. Hinata put in actual effort to better herself—and better yet, to help Naruto, even now when the pair were due to be pitted against one another. And from what she'd seen the previous day, the pair of them could work as a cohesive unit. Perhaps, if she were very, very lucky, the Uchiha would die in his match and the current teams could be shuffled with the loss of one genin and the addition of another. Then again, that was simple wishful thinking—she would likely have to wait a few months until the next batch of genin graduated before being sorted into one of their teams.

"We're here," Naruto's voice pulled her from her thoughts and she looked around, taking stock of their surroundings. The bar—or pub, depending on who one asked—they found themselves before could best be described as a hole in the wall. It had a run-down, though homey look to it. There was nothing on the exterior marking it as such, but Haku knew this was a ninja-exclusive establishment. Walking inside, she followed the pair before her to a corner booth, already occupied by a pair of women—one of whom she recognized as Hinata, the other a red-eyed jonin wearing an outfit that seemed to consist mostly of bandage wrappings on the inside with what could best be described as sex-hair, as it had that just-out-of-bed look to it.

As her eyes met those of the Hyuuga, Haku saw understanding dawn in them and the girl gave a small smile before shifting her gaze to Naruto and back. "I see," the girl murmured, and Haku knew that she had apparently figured out that Naruto knew her plans and was now actively working to counter them—and now, she would have to counter his counter. It looked to be quickly turning into a game of oneupmanship between the pair.

"So," Anko started, taking her own seat after Naruto slid into the booth to put himself on the opposite side of Hinata. "You and the chain-smoker off again?"

Kurenai rolled her eyes. "How could you tell?"

"You always come here when you're slumming," Anko pointed out, drawing a nod from the other woman. "That, and you've been using Hinata like a teddy bear this whole time."

The jonin had the decency to blush, but refused to put room between herself and her favorite student. "So, um... how are preparations for the exam going?" the jonin asked, looking for a topic that wouldn't end in more teasing at the hands of her best friend/on-again off-again lover.

"Better, now," Hinata answered, getting a nod from the blond across from her. "I'm sure Haku-chan's help will be invaluable."

Naruto gulped, shooting a look between his lover and recent sparring partner. _'She knows. I am so boned,' _he grimaced. "Well, yeah..." he admitted.

"It's fine," the girl dismissed his worry, drawing his attention back from where it'd fallen to the table. "We want to put on a good show for the examiners, and we can't do that if we're both simply relying on the same techniques we used during the preliminary rounds."

"Right," the blond agreed. "So... what happens after the exam?" the blond asked, the thought finally crossing his mind.

Seeing Kurenai's confused look but having an idea where the blond was going with that, Anko answered. "Things'll likely go back to the way they were, for the most part. Those that didn't get promoted go back to their teams and it's business as usual. Whoever gets promoted will be put on sort of a team-rotation, replacing the jonin-sensei at times for field missions—typically C and B-ranked stuff. I imagine there'll be at least one promotion, which will open up a spot for a displaced genin to fill—or a recently inducted genin," Anko suggested, nudging the hyouton user to her left.

"If I had to guess, I would say Nara Shikamaru is almost guaranteed a promotion," Kurenai admitted. "That's no slight on you," she was quick to add, given present company, "it's just that Nara are always promoted quickly."

"Kure-chan's right," Anko nodded. "And this one's pretty bright, too, so about the only way they wouldn't promote him is if he failed to show up."

Naruto shrugged. "Well, we all know I'm not getting promoted, but what are Hinata-chan's chances?"

With a blink, Haku asked, "What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" When the four others at the table traded knowing looks, she nodded slowly. "Ah, I see. This is about that red chakra—meaning it isn't simply a kekkai genkai as I had assumed." _That _got a reaction out of the two jonin at the table, as both turned their attention on her. On their questioning looks, she answered simply, "Naruto-kun and I had the misfortune to stand on opposite sides of the battlefield in Wave. Fortunately, that has now changed."

"Due to circumstances outside of his control, Naruto-kun is not particularly well-liked within the village," Hinata answered simply, getting slow nods from both Kurenai and Anko. "I can not say much more than that."

"Ah," the ice-nin murmured. Message received. Apparently, whatever that red chakra was, it was a taboo subject—secret, unless she missed her guess. To be a village secret would mean it would have to be something fairly dangerous to know—likely, dangerous for outsiders to know. Ridiculously god-awful power, a village-wide secret that many people—civilians included—seemed to be in on, and the boy's own reticence to talk on it... It didn't take a genius to figure out, given the blond's apparent age and Konoha's recent history. Even _she_knew about the Kyuubi attack, after all. With a small smile, she attempted to put their fears at ease. "Well, that's their loss then."

The group went silent as one of the bar's few waitresses came by to deposit sake and dango before retreating—unlike civilian establishments, those working in places frequented by ninja knew better than to hang around the tables longer than necessary or pay more than the bare minimum of attention to their patrons. Fingering one of the provided bottles of sake, Kurenai hummed. "Well, Hinata-chan's chances are actually pretty good. Promotion isn't typically based on who wins or loses the exam—though, the winner is typically promoted. So long as you can demonstrate that you have the sort of tactical mindset it takes to lead a team, then you stand good odds of being promoted." After a moment, she sighed and nudged the girl at her side. "I would hate to see you leave my team, but if that's what's best for you..."

Sending a smile up at the older kunoichi, Hinata slipped her hand around the woman's back and pulled her into a quick hug. "We can always meet up for drinks," she suggested, earning a chuckle from the red-eyed jonin.

"True," the woman admitted. "Speaking of teams, I hear Kiba's in a bit of trouble with his mother."

Hinata's smile was wide and more than a little frightening. "He really should have known better," the girl mused. "I think the only reason she hasn't given him to me yet is because she doesn't want to embarrass her clan with all the foreigners in town. Once the exam's done, though... well, I imagine we'll be spending some more time on counter-interrogation training."

Naruto shuddered. "You're not going to use the vines, are you?"

"Vines?" Haku asked, even as Hinata's grin widened fractionally.

"You don't want to know," three voices answered in tandem—Anko, Kurenai, and Naruto. It was Naruto who continued. "Please tell me you're not planning to bring those to our match, Hinata-chan." The girl's quiet chuckle only served to set the blond to twitching. "Hinata-chan!?" Seeing she wasn't forthcoming with an answer, the blond turned panicked eyes on Anko. "I need a fire jutsu, now. Lots and lots of fire. Maybe if we hurry, we can burn down the Forest of Death before it's too late."

Some hours and several bottles later, Naruto yawned—and continued to ignore the fact that he could feel Anko's moving thigh against his own as her foot was apparently occupied under the table, more likely with Kurenai given the woman's silence and furtive glances towards the door. "Alright, I don't know about you guys but I've got stuff to do tomorrow."

Nodding and staving off the infectious yawn, Anko prodded Kurenai with her foot and convinced the jonin to sit up straight. "Right. Student-of-mine, help me cart Kure-chan's sorry ass back to my apartment—she's sloshed, and I'm not dragging her halfway across town."

"Do I have to?" Hinata whined, looking longingly between her two senseis and the blond at Anko's side.

Anko snorted. "If you know what's good for you, you will." Shuffling to her left, Anko threw her hand out and reflexively caught the brunette kunoichi that had almost slid out of the booth on her movement, Haku apparently having slipped into unconsciousness at some point. "Pfft, lightweight." Considering for a moment, Anko carefully hid a grin as she addressed the blond on her other side. "Oi, blondie. You know where this one lives?"

Naruto, by far the most clearheaded of the lot, shook his head. "Not a clue."

Sighing theatrically, Anko nodded. "I suppose it can't be helped then. Take her back to your place and let her sleep it off." On the blond's dubious look, she rolled her eyes. "You're going to keep your hands to yourself, right?"

"Well, yeah," the blond agreed.

"Then it's not a problem," Anko reasoned. Well, it wouldn't have been a problem if Anko weren't the next most sober of the group and the woman in question didn't have a mischievous streak almost as wide as Naruto's own. As it stood, well, if it wasn't a problem by morning then she would make it one herself.

With some careful maneuvering, Anko and Hinata managed to get Kurenai between themselves while Naruto hoisted the drooling Haku up onto his back and followed the trio out the door. They had barely made it five steps before Hinata paused, visibly twitching. Across from her, Anko chuckled quietly. "My innocence," the Hyuuga girl whimpered, eliciting a full-blown laugh from the special jonin.

"Forgot to mention, Kurenai-chan gets grabby when she drinks," Anko admitted, watching her friend fondle her student—not the last blow to her innocence that night, if Anko had any say in it.

The following morning found Naruto squinting as light poured in from his bedroom window, shadows moving oddly across his face as the breeze from outside ruffled his curtains. Yawning, the blond rolled over and pulled the covers up far enough to blot out the sun before burying his face in the mass of dark hair at Hinata's back. It was several minutes later before a few key incongruities forced the blond back into waking. Firstly, he never left the window open—he had the damn thing booby trapped, in fact, due to all the break-ins over the years. Secondly, he knew Hinata's scent and while the person in his arms definitely smelled nice, it wasn't Hinata's usual shampoo—nor was it Anko, from the rare few times the woman had spent the night. Thirdly, Hinata's hair was far too short to cover her neck, let alone reach as far as it did. And finally, both himself and the female in his arms were nude—not an uncommon occurrence in and of itself, but given the incongruities, something he should probably worry about or at least investigate.

Even as he opened his eyes, the figure in his arms stirred and rolled over to face him. With a yawn, a pair of brown eyes opened to regard his own before blinking, closing and opening slowly in confusion, then tracking down and around to take in their current situation. "Naruto-kun," Haku murmured in greeting, forcibly willing herself not to blush.

"Uh, Haku-chan, good morning," the blond returned nervously. "It's not what it looks like." He paused for a moment before admitting, "Probably."

Shifting enough to run a hand down and check herself, Haku hummed. "No, we didn't do anything. I don't remember getting here, though."

"Ah, that was me," Naruto admitted. "Anko said I should..." Trailing off, the blond shot a look towards the window where the special jonin in question sat, idly kicking one leg out while chewing on her dango.

The special jonin grinned. "Oh, please, don't let me stop you. This is better than a soap opera."

Noting the direction of his gaze, Haku spotted the special jonin and sighed quietly. "I take it we can blame our lack of clothes on your guest?" On Naruto's nod, she hummed before making a suggestion. "Perhaps we should teach her she shouldn't take liberties with others?"

Grinning, the blond asked, "What did you have in mind?"

Haku's only answer was to point to the window, as the air around them suddenly chilled and several dozen senbon were propelled at the special jonin. Rolling her eyes, Anko waved before simply disappearing. "I feel somehow cheated."

The blond nodded. "Yeah. I'm totally going to prank her apartment for this. Want to help?"

"Definitely," the hyouton used agreed, sending the blond a smile. When neither of them moved for a full minute, she asked, "So do we want to take turns getting dressed while one of us sneaks glances at the other, or can we just get dressed?"

* * *

"You seem distracted," Haku pointed out. Above her, Hinata murmured something and the brunette frowned. "'Tongue?'"

"Erk," the Hyuuga froze, eyes tracking up from the half-finished seal on the hyouton user's chest to the girl's eyes. "You heard nothing."

"I heard nothing," Haku agreed, though humor danced in her eyes and Hinata knew that slip would come back to bite her at some point in the future.

After a moment of studying her seal work, the Hyuuga girl smiled, causing the girl below her to twitch. "You know," she began slowly, even as tension began to radiate off the brunette. "I don't mind if you share our bed, but at least have the courtesy to invite me when you do."

Haku blanched. "You know nothing!"

"I know nothing," Hinata hummed, smile still present. "Well, nothing beyond the fact that you have a crush on my Naruto-kun."

Eyes narrowing, Haku retorted, "You got your sensei drunk and made love to her."

Hinata twitched. "Hey, now—Anko got her drunk, I just got dragged along. I protested the entire time. I didn't do anything but watch!" Well, more was left with her eyes taped open and literally forced to watch—she could only surmise Anko had hit her with that damnable temporary paralysis technique yet _again_. She made a mental note to both ask how to do it and figure out a counter—it was a glaring hole in her ability to escape most things, as if she couldn't move she couldn't manually reset herself. Then again, maybe she should just look into some way of getting out of just that situation, _without _being able to move—and that thought lead her to wonder if that wasn't the special jonin's intent from the beginning. Ninja had a tendency to lay plans within plans like that, and Anko's mind was particularly devious—Hinata felt she would not hesitate to substitute embarrassment, mortification, and sexual frustration in place of real torture if it would get the lesson across without lasting psychological damage.

The pair shared a short standoff before Haku sighed. "I won't tell if you don't."

Snorting, Hinata nodded. "Agreed. The last thing we need is Naruto-kun's Ero-Sannin finding out." Bending her head back down to review her work, she decided she couldn't let it go. "The offer stands," she murmured, though knew the other kunoichi understood her given her hum in affirmation.

After several long minutes, Haku finally broke the silence. "Why are you helping me?"

"Beyond the obvious?" asked the Hyuuga girl, getting a nod. "You're nice and Naruto-kun likes you—that alone is reason enough to at least make an attempt at getting to know you better."

Humming in thought, the hyouton user was silent for several moments as the Hyuuga girl continued to apply ink between her breasts. "But there is still the obvious," she murmured, drawing a nod from her companion. One way or another, once her presence in the village became public knowledge, any number of individuals and clans alike would begin trying to bring her into the fold. Unlike the home where she'd grown up, Konoha had a very different view towards those with kekkai genkai—that being, the more the better. Almost all of Konoha's great clans either had some sort of bloodline limit, or family technique that made them invaluable assets to the village—and a hyouton bearer would be a prized addition to any of them.

Haku was pulled from her thoughts by a sudden spike in chakra from the girl above her. A glance up revealed the girl to have activated her dojutsu. Apparently satisfied with what she found, the girl released the chakra holding her expanded sight and carefully dipped her brush again before continuing with her seal work. "Naruto-kun is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi," she began, drawing the girl's eyes to her face even though her eyes remained fixed on her work. "He has been since the day of his birth. You would think that would have convinced any number of clans to attempt to take him in—and I'm sure it did. For whatever reason, he has been alone these past fourteen-or-so years, and his life has not been pleasant. One would think that such a person would be honored for their sacrifice, for the burden of containing the great beast—and if not that, then for one day wielding its power in service to the village. Barring that, they should fear that blatant hostility would turn him into exactly the sort of threat they fear he is. Except, that is not the case. It is my suspicion that, when they were denied, several of the clans and various individuals decided that if they could not have him, then no one would—and no one would want him. The malice directed towards him on a day-to-day basis is almost unreal, and can't simply be leftover resentment from thirteen years ago. Someone or some_ones _must be actively festering hostility towards him among the civilian populace. To my knowledge, it has only truly gotten out of control twice but either Naruto-kun doesn't remember, doesn't show it, or something else is going on there—it is entirely possible to simply erase short-term memories with medical techniques and there is a clan of mind-walkers within Konoha who can likely do the same..."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The brush continued its smooth strokes as Hinata pondered the question a moment. "My own clan enslaves over half its members with a seal designed to destroy the bearer's eyes and reproductive organs upon death, along with either killing or bringing pain to them on command." Seeing the hyouton user's eyes had gone wide, Hinata sent her a bitter smile. "So, as you can probably guess, I am not particularly fond of any of the clans—my own included. I refuse to allow myself to be branded as a slave should my father not choose me as the heir to our clan. Should you be brought into the Hyuuga clan, you would surely be matched to Neji—my cousin, and perhaps the greatest jyuuken user of our generation. Of course, you would be immediately branded with that same seal—as would any and all of your future children for several generations. Enough time to begin selectively breeding the Hyouton bloodline into the main house's line. As much as they preach keeping the byakugan bloodline pure, they would not hesitate to add something that looks compatible by outright line theft." Feeling the girl below her stir, Hinata shook her head and gently rested a hand on her sternum to keep her in place. "That seal goes on the forehead, intentionally visible for all to see. I would not do that to another human being."

"Ah," Haku murmured, settling somewhat. "Then...?"

"My point being," the Hyuuga girl continued, "I don't intend to remain a Hyuuga the rest of my days. With any luck, I can convince Naruto-kun to start our own clan—he probably wouldn't be opposed to the idea. Actually, he'd likely be thrilled at the prospect of family."

"And me?"

Hinata's smile was small and mischievous. "Well, you could always join a clan you know would never brand you as a slave, or was after you simply for your bloodline."

The pair were silent for some time before Hinata finally put away the brush and ink, giving her work a final look over. It was as she brought her hands up to activate the seal that Haku gave her answer. "Perhaps," she began. Seeing she had the Hyuuga girl's undivided attention, she glanced to the side momentarily before making up her mind and pressing forward. "I want what you have with Naruto, with Anko." Seeing the girl above her raise an eyebrow in question, she shrugged. "Trust. The three of you obviously know something, and it's not just Naruto-kun's secret."

"Mm," Hinata confirmed, finally closing the seal on the other girl's chest with application of chakra. As it shrunk into place between her breasts, Hinata sat back and thought the matter over, absently pulling Haku's top closed. Finally, she nodded as Haku sat up and regarded her new seal momentarily before shifting her attention back to the Hyuuga girl. "No, that would be my secret." When the hyouton user made no move to press for more information, Hinata chuckled. "I am beginning to hate the first time..." Shaking her head, she sighed before jumping straight in. "Basically, I time travel when I die—back a minimum of four days, more or less if I want. If I had known you wanted to know this, I would have arranged something in advance, but since this is the first you've asked for me..." she shrugged.

Haku frowned, studying the girl across from her. Either she was lying, insane, or telling the truth—and the hyouton user wasn't sure which of those options was more worrying. "It is... difficult to believe." The problem with that was that if the girl wasn't lying to her outright at the moment, then obviously Naruto and Anko believed her.

Hinata snorted. "No kidding. This is why I usually arrange telling someone a day in advance, so I can point out significant events that I couldn't possibly have influenced." She smiled. "If it's any help, that's how I was able to keep you from dying. You, and Zabuza-san."

"Wha—" the hyouton user asked, suddenly going still.

"Oh yes," Hinata nodded. "Naruto-kun had told me his tale of the events in Wave more than once—how you died, valiantly trying to protect your master from Kakashi-sensei. Zabuza, who died shortly after killing Gatou and most of his men. I'm the one who suggested he send a few clones to take out Gatou and bring his head back."

Haku's eyes went wide. "You... That—you can't..."

"Did you know that was the first time Naruto-kun had ever killed? And he did it for you—to spare your life, because he couldn't bear the thought of losing a friend again, even if he didn't remember doing so the first dozen or so times." Hinata's smile was thin, barely there at all. "The only ones who know are those who were there, minus the Uchiha as I'm pretty sure no one bothered to tell him, the Hokage, Anko and myself. The official story is that the mercenaries turned on Gatou, when it was revealed he wouldn't pay for your services, so why would he pay for theirs—of course, you'd know that too, having been there when the Hokage decided as much."

"But—"

"You could always ask Anko, or Naruto," she shrugged, standing and pulling the dumbstruck girl to her feet. "Come on, we'll go find Anko. She's likely in her office."

* * *

_'Why am I here again?'_ Haku wondered, looking to her right where a certain whisker-marked blond snored quietly. On the boy's other side, a head of dark hair shifted slightly before settling, as Hinata stretched. _'Oh, right. That girl is _dangerous_. Persuasive, too,' _she mused, blushing faintly.

"It could be like this every morning," a soft voice interrupted her musing, drawing her attention to a single, pale lavender eye peeking around the blond's chest.

_'_Very _dangerous,' _Haku revised. After the revelation of Hinata's particular psychosis, the girl had apparently taken it as a challenge that Haku still had doubts even after both Naruto and Anko had confirmed her claim. Somehow, the very next day, the Hyuuga girl had known things about her that no one—hopefully not even Zabuza—knew. Things no one but Haku herself could have known. And then, Hinata had proceeded to seduce both herself and Naruto—the blond wasn't particularly difficult, obviously, but the younger girl had apparently known exactly how to and not to coerce her into doing things she had only idly fantasized about.

"That was with a single day, Haku-chan," Hinata reminded quietly, apparently guessing her thoughts.

"And if I said yes?" Haku finally whispered.

Hinata's grin was ear to ear. "A relatively carefree life outside of clan politics with people who love you." After a moment, she shrugged and continued. "Then, once I'm ready, I'll go back and fix all of this and we can do it all over again."

Haku blinked. "What do you mean?"

The Hyuuga girl was silent long enough that Haku wondered if she'd gone back to sleep. Just as she made to check just that, Hinata spoke. "My mother died when I was very young—only a couple of years after my little sister was born. None of the doctors or medics she saw knew what was happening, other than that her body was failing for no discernible reason. It was... 'unnatural,' I remember Iryo-sensei saying. The more I think on it, the more I fear she was poisoned—and I've got a pretty good idea of the who, but not the how or the why. The fact that the Hyuuga elder council refused to allow an autopsy is pretty telling, though."

"I see," Haku murmured. "But where do I fit in? Why are you so intent on bringing me into the fold, as it were? My bloodline?"

Hinata chuckled. "Partly. Mostly, Naruto-kun likes you. I suppose there are two ways I could treat my relationship with him—either become insanely, over-protectively jealous and eventually become no better than what I suspect Haruno or Yamanaka would be like if Uchiha ever said 'yes' and eventually wind up driving him away or _don't_. You're a nice person, you're pleasing to look at, and you're like us—fiercely loyal to those who can earn it. Besides, you don't think I'd just leave you and Naruto-kun to grow up alone in the cold, do you? Even if I wasn't actively pursuing you, I wouldn't leave a friend to that fate."

The brunette hummed quietly before smiling. "I don't know whether to feel relieved, or worried for my younger self." A thought occurred and she asked, "What about Zabuza-sama?"

Snorting, Hinata answered, "He can get his own cute little cross-dresser. Finders, keepers."

Below them, the blond stirred and cracked his eyes open, before shutting them again in a massive yawn. "Morning," he managed, around a second yawn and stretch.

"_Every_morning?" Haku asked, drawing a confused look from the blond.

"Every morning," Hinata confirmed, causing the boy's focus to swing to her.

"Mm," the hyouton user hummed. "Deal."

* * *

Hinata, or a clone thereof, frowned in concentration as she attempted to manipulate a tiny bone fragment back into its proper place. As it was, it was like trying to reassemble a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle, underwater, without directly touching the puzzle pieces—and then convincing the pieces to stick back together once she found the right place to put them. All in all, she'd have to say she was doing pretty damn well considering the medical corps had taken one look at Lee's arms and legs and written the task off as impossible for anyone short of Tsunade—while she had managed to fix at least a quarter of the damage to Lee's left leg. It was slow going, but it was progress—and it had almost amazed Iryo-sensei. Almost, because he honestly expected this much out of her, given her advantages.

She sighed when the piece she was working on joined the larger mass of his fibula and fused enough to hold it in place. It would be tender for weeks to come and he would have to increase his calcium intake, but it should heal completely within a few months. Thankfully, the genin in question was sedated at the moment—Hinata didn't think she could take the distraction that was Lee _and_work on puzzling his parts back together. Taking a sip of water from the glass nearby his bedside, the girl refocused on her work and picked the next likely fragment to replace—thankfully, none of them had drifted too far from where they originally belonged. More thankfully, Gaara hadn't shattered his bones to the point where the marrow had drained out or entered his blood stream—miraculously, neither had any of the fragments. Either of those scenarios could have been very, very bad for Lee—fatal, really.

Hinata let her mind wander as she snagged another two fragments and moved them into place. Iryo-sensei's hands-on approach apparently worked well enough that she was picking things up fairly quickly. Sure, she couldn't name every bone in the human body, but by now she could certainly mend them well enough. Honestly, the largest problem she'd encountered so far had been the rest of the hospital staff. The medic-ninja present were professional enough, but the civilians could be downright nasty—not nice people at all. She understood the need to harden oneself to seeing all sorts of maladies, some of which were sure to be untreatable—it was much the same as ninja did to deal with having to take a life in the name of their village. What she could not abide was treating the patients as something less than human at times. Admittedly, despite her mostly sheltered stay in the hospital so far considering she had spent most of her time fixing Lee, she had run across a patient or three that had tried her patience—but that didn't excuse rudeness or dehumanizing behavior on the part of the staff.

Realizing she was swiftly growing frustrated and that the attitude would only hamper her current attempts, Hinata pushed the thought aside and calmed herself before she accidentally damaged something of Lee's. Shifting her thoughts elsewhere, the girl hummed. Naruto seemed to be getting better in their spars—faster, closer to being able to dodge or deflect her blows. He would be hard to take in a pure taijutsu fight, but not impossible—and thankfully, she already had two methods of dispatching his clones ready and a third on the way, all she needed was more practice with each. That, and more chakra—always more chakra. It was really too bad she couldn't just take some of his. Unfortunately, in order to do so, one of two things would need to happen—either she would need to become so in tune with his chakra that her body could recognize it as her own or it would need to pass through a pretty extensive network of chakra purification seals before she could touch the stuff.

She blinked and nearly lost her grip on the bone fragments she was working with. _'I know how to make those seals,'_ she mused. Chakra purification seals were in pretty much every sealed clean room in the hospital, and it was something that was taught to every aspiring medic-nin in the event they needed to donate chakra to someone who was particularly low since you couldn't just dump the stuff into the body and hope for the best. Chakra was similar to blood, in that manner—only certain types were compatible with no effort. Unlike blood, chakra could be made to be compatible if it was not already—which is where the purification seals came in. Modifying her own leeching/storage seal with a purification array would be easy enough—the problem was, how was she supposed to get the chakra in question. The answer came to her as she idly lifted her cup of water and took another sip, her eyes focusing on the chakra string holding it that would be invisible to the naked eye—practicing manipulating those at every opportunity with every-day things had quickly become second nature. It would take some experimentation, but it wasn't like she didn't spar with Naruto on a regular basis. Of course, it would help matters if she were both attuned to his chakra _and _had the seals—it would be almost as quick as her own chakra transfer between clones. At least, that was the theory.

It was nearing dark when the real Hinata found herself accosted by a clone wearing scrubs and bearing ink and brush. "Down you go!" the clone grinned, shoving her original counterpart to the grassy ground of the training field and quickly straddling her legs.

"Why shouldn't I just disperse you?" the original asked, raising an eyebrow and readying a chakra string to do just that.

The clone smiled. "Because then you'd have to spend ten minutes sorting through the memories to figure out what I've got in mind right now, only to have to recreate me when you're done because you can't do it without help."

"Good points," Hinata conceded as the clone ripped her shirt up to bare her chest. Feeling her skin prickle and other areas stiffen at the sudden exposure, she forced herself to relax. Above her, the clone applied chakra to a section of the seal, causing the whole thing to unfold. "What are you doing, exactly?"

"Saving our collective ass," the clone answered vaguely. "Stop twitching."

"It's cold," the original murmured as fresh ink met her skin. "We need a better way of doing this."

Rolling her eyes, the clone glanced at her notes and continued. "Yes, well, when I come up with something better, I'll let you know. So, are we meeting up with Anko again tonight?"

Hinata shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. You know how she is."

"Like a cat—comes and goes as she pleases," the clone surmised, getting a nod in answer. "I want you to try something, once we're done here." Seeing she had her progenitor's attention, she smiled. "Take the leftover ink and see if you can write seals with chakra strings."

"Why...?" the original started, only to trail off at her clone's grin.

Blowing on her work to dry it, she hummed. "Well, _besides _writing explosive seals behind someone?" Seeing her creator understood, the clone shrugged. "It'd speed up what I'm doing here, for one. For another, as I'm sure you've no doubt figured out, we are naturally inclined towards water."

"You confirmed it?" Hinata asked, getting a nod.

"It would put us a step closer to something downright insidious," the clone murmured, starting another section. Seeing her creator's eyebrows rise in question, she smiled. "Tentacles."

"Kinky," the original deadpanned. "Anko would approve."

Chuckling, the clone shook her head. "Deadly. Phase two area-denial for Naruto-kun's clones?" she asked, getting a slow nod. "With water. Ridiculously thin, boiling strands of water encased in just enough chakra to keep them from dissipating and circulating fast enough to saw through bone on the first pass. It's sort of like how they process meat for packaging."

Hinata blinked. "You've been busy," she accused.

Shrugging, the clone blew on another completed seal. "Yes, well, you try spending all day alternately bored out of your mind putting Rock Lee back together or listening to civilian doctors and nurses piss and moan about their shifts without coming up with new and interesting ways to murder them all. I'm surprised someone hasn't snapped and gone on a killing spree by now—if it keeps up, it'll likely be us."

"No killing the hospital staff," Hinata reprimanded, drawing a pout from her clone. Seeing her open her mouth, she held up a hand. "No, you may not do it and then reset after."

With a sigh, the clone nodded. "Fine. But if I can't turn to murder for stress relief, then we're going to wear Naruto-kun out." Humming, she took in her handiwork and nodded before applying chakra and closing the newly improved and expanded seal array. "Okay, we should be good to go. Oh, and one more thing." Standing, she pulled her original to her feet. "Make sure you try to attune us to Naruto-kun's chakra. It'll make stealing his from his clones when they disperse easier—dispersed clones having no will to resist, as opposed to trying to pull it straight from live ones. Well, maybe." She shrugged, still unsure of the idea herself.

"Thank you," Hinata murmured, taking the ink and brush as the clone set about stripping out of her hospital wear so it wouldn't simply hit the ground once she dispersed. Folding the scrubs under one arm, she planted a kiss on the clone's cheek before it dispersed—something she'd gotten into the habit of doing, of late. The clones were as much her as she herself was, and they liked dying about as much as she did—that being, not at all. They saw the necessity in it, but it didn't make it any more pleasant. So, she'd come to think of the clones less as shadows of herself and more as sister-selves—each one her but not, separated by their daily experiences. She wondered, not for the first time, how Naruto dealt with this on an exponentially greater basis—and wondered, too, if this wasn't why the jutsu was forbidden in the first place. It worried her, when she turned her mind towards the potential long-term effects of exposure to such a technique. How long had she been using it, now, at a minimum of four of herself aware at any one time?

With one final look towards where her other self had stood, she smiled faintly and made her way off the training field. No more training for the night. She would find Naruto and Haku, blow off Anko if she had to, and the three of them were going to spend the rest of the night together. And then tomorrow, she would get up and do it all over again—more time spent in the hospital listening to nurses and interns bitch while fixing Lee, more time with either Naruto or Haku or both of them practicing, more time alone working on something the blond hadn't seen yet. She would do that the next day, and the next, until something new inevitably came up.

At some point, she would have to put some thought into countering the other participants of the exam. Shikamaru would be easy enough, if she could either break or avoid his shadows—or hit him in the head with a ranged jyuuken. Actually, ranged jyuuken would work against the vast majority of those in the finals, now that she thought on it. None of them were truly fast enough to dodge and when the technique hit, it was a one-hit-kill move against clones—considering that it packed the same punch as a typical jyuuken, targeting the head or other vital areas would have the same effect as standard jyuuken, that being either unconsciousness or death in the case of a strike to the brain or heart. The only ones who could pose a problem were Naruto and Gaara, both of whom she assumed could simply shrug such an attack off, and the Uchiha who would no doubt see it coming a mile away. Naruto, she was already working against. Sasuke, she could probably overwhelm once he inevitably closed to melee range when he realized she could frustrate his efforts at ranged combat every step of the way. Gaara... well, with that sand, she would have to think of something. It was like Neji's kaiten, in that it was a very good defense, though not perfect. Unlike Neji's kaiten, it probably wouldn't be broken by exploiting simple physics. Overwhelming force was, as the name implied, overwhelming—but the sand could potentially simply eat a ridiculously large amount of physical damage before she cracked it open, meaning in order to actually overwhelm his defense, any brute-force attack would have to be several orders of magnitude greater than would be advisable for anything approaching close-to-mid range. Which meant she would have to use one of Anko's other methods. _'Well, they're from the desert, and his entire defense is made of sand... I wonder how well it does in water,'_ she mused, a grin spreading across her face as she came in sight of Naruto's apartment building.

* * *

Henge, kawarimi, kage bunshin, shunshin—those were the four techniques Naruto had to his name, barring variations and combinations thereof. They were all he had to work with, and Hinata was obviously working to counter the greatest of the four. He needed something more, but Anko refused to part with any new jutsu, for two reasons—firstly, it wouldn't be fair to Hinata given the fact that the girl hadn't come to her for techniques or ideas to defeat him, and secondly, there was always the potential for accidents when throwing high-powered jutsu at comrades. And while Naruto liked to think he had enough restraint not to accidentally kill his girlfriend/lover with a jutsu, the problem was that even a low-ranked jutsu would come out a grade or two higher when the blond threw it simply because he couldn't limit his chakra output to the same degree other ninja could.

With clones out and henge all but useless considering Hinata could probably disrupt it in a few jyuuken blows—though he'd never actually tested that theory—even if she admitted she couldn't see through it like a normal illusion-type henge, that left him down to two techniques. So it was that the blond had abandoned clones in his practice with Haku and had set to sharpening those two skills as much as he could. The results were surprising, to say the least. As is turned out, kawarimi actually _was_shunshin, with an extra step thrown to leave something in the user's place and slap a henge on it—the part Naruto had never properly gotten, until he figured out that the standard kawarimi actually called for a standard illusory henge, and he had started modifying it to skip that part and simply use clones. As it was, kawarimi was actually a three-part combination jutsu: shunshin, something Naruto didn't have a name for, and henge. In order to use the complete technique one had to have line of sight on what they were replacing themselves with, something to pick up and throw in their place, and a grasp on henge to leave a decent sort-of-clone in one's place. He suspected that the real henge and bunshin techniques were actually the same thing—only with subtle differences, based on whether one wanted to project the images away from oneself or over oneself. It stood to reason he was correct, given his inability to use either.

Haku paused as her blond sparring partner disappeared once more, only to reappear three meters behind and one to the left of his previous position, breaking the previous pattern of the blond always reappearing either closer to her or behind her somewhere. "That was not line-of-sight," the girl accused.

The blond's grin was triumphant. "Nope!" he confirmed. "But I've seen it before, and I know it's open, so..."

"Then she will be surprised," Haku admitted, having been somewhat surprised herself. If the blond could disappear and reappear in shunshin anywhere in their training field, so long as he had a vague idea of where he was going, then he could do the same during his match with Hinata—likely pulling himself out of whatever anti-clone technique she had at her disposal and allowing the blond the use of his most useful technique. It wasn't teleportation, but it was a step up from the normal shunshin and not something someone expected to see from a genin. Unlike teleportation using some sort of space-time technique—which it was rumored Yondaime's signature technique actually was—shunshin required one physically traverse the distance between point A and point B. The problem came in being unable to see where one was going—it would be like running backwards at speed, even a small rock could unset one's footing and send someone foolish enough to try tumbling.

She was cut off from further thought as the blond lobbed a kunai her general direction and disappeared in a shunshin, reappearing a few meters away only to repeat the process. _'What is he doing?'_she wondered, studying the incoming projectiles warily. To date, he had yet to actually start throwing bladed weapony around in their spars—meaning he likely had a new technique. Mindful of her sensei/master's experience with the blond's clone-shurikens in Wave, she deflected both blades off course with a pair of senbon. When neither dispersed as a clone would, she disregarded them as neither would hit her.

Rematerializing only two meters away from the hyouton girl, Naruto grinned. "Got you," he warned, causing the girl's eyes to widen, even as his own narrowed and focused on the blades he'd thrown. She felt it then, chakra building between the blond and his weapons, with herself in the middle. Wasting no more time on thought, she ducked into her own shunshin, reappearing several meters away from the blond and watching as the blades she'd disregarded as harmless suddenly changed course and neatly intersected the space where she'd been standing not two seconds previous—a move that would have been potentially fatal, had her blond lover not had the courtesy to warn her first. She was more surprised when, instead of simply falling to the ground, the pair of kunai pulled into a tight orbit around the blond as he turned to shoot her a grin, before pointing at her. Given yet more warning, Haku dropped into another shunshin as the blades once more attempted to make her acquaintance—it looked like she would be the one getting practice dodging and using shunshin for the rest of the day, especially given the fact that the blond had just emptied both his shuriken and kunai holsters and an assortment of pointy death now orbited the blond that Haku had to admire, if only for her own propensity to do similar with walls of icy needles.

"How did you do it?" the brunette asked some time later, between pants as she lay collapsed on the grass. She could hear the boy's grin as he answered from his position beside her. Around them, strewn across the field, was Naruto's assortment of weaponry and a sprinkling of quickly melting senbon.

"Eh, the second part of kawarimi. It's sort of like... a chakra magnet?" he tried, then shrugged. "As long as you know where it is when you start the technique, holding onto whatever you've got is pretty easy. It's kind of like if you'd tied wire to a kunai, only without the wire. So long as you hold onto it, it isn't going anywhere but where you want it. Making it go faster or slower is even easier—the more chakra you throw into it, the faster they go."

Having caught her breath, Haku nodded. "It makes sense. Hinata-chan will be surprised," she reaffirmed. Of course, that didn't mean the girl wouldn't see the technique coming—she just wouldn't have any real defense or counter for it, hopefully. Worse, the damn blades followed him through shunshin and had a tendency to slingshot once he came out of the technique—meaning that he could impart ridiculous speed to the blades simply by moving a few feet in one direction or another in addition to upping his chakra pull against them. It was one of the reasons she was smitten with the blond—the fact that he could think on his feet and was scary-brilliant when he needed to be. Of course, that begged the question, "How long were you working on that technique before trying it out on me?"

Chuckling, the boy sat up and shot her an apologetic look. "Sorry, it just sort of came to me," he shrugged. Meaning that _was_the first time he'd ever used the technique—likely only seconds between conception and execution. Hinata wasn't the only one who was downright dangerous. It meant she would have to step up her own game, if she wanted to keep up with the pair—find and surpass the current limits of her bloodline, if need be, as it was the easiest route. After that, well, she was not opposed to putting in hard work learning new techniques. "Well," the blond began, hopping to his feet and pulling her to her own. "Let's go find Hinata-chan and grab something to eat. I'm thinking—"

"Barbecue," Haku cut in, drawing the blond up short. The boy sent her a pout, but she remained steadfast in her resolve not to eat another meal at Ichiraku's that day. She was in complete agreement with Hinata—the boy needed something besides noodles in his diet and ramen every other meal got boring fast.

"Fine," the blond huffed. "Maybe Shika's team will be there."

* * *

Hinata panted, sending a glare at the clone opposite her. "Again," the clone demanded, byakugan active and waiting for her creator to make the first move.

Shaking the numbness out of her arms, Hinata raised her right arm to point at the clone. Chakra flowed down her arm and the limb blurred in movement for a blink before the sound of displaced air echoed across the clearing. It was followed by the clone stepping into shunshin and coming out of the technique two meters right and a meter closer of where she'd been previous, even as she watched a compressed ball of twisted and flaring chakra visible only to her byakugan streak into the place the clone had just occupied. Tracking the clone through its movement, Hinata had already adjusted her aim and fired off another burst of chakra. Another dodge, this time far left and much closer. Switching arms, Hinata tried again—and again, and again as the clone continued to circle her before the original finally tired and collapsed, panting, to the ground.

"We're getting better," the clone praised, helping her original self find her feet and fishing around in the girl's field pack for her canteen.

Sipping the water provided, Hinata swallowed before grumbling her reply. "Not good enough. Naruto-kun is going to be faster. He's likely already figured out his limitations and is already playing with shunshin. He's got chakra to spare, so he can overpower it all day long. We have to expect anything he does with it to be _instant_, leaving us little-to-no time to react. If we can't tag him with that in transit, we have to catch him coming out—"

"Which means learning to lead our targets all over again. I know," the clone finished, putting away the canteen and pulling her creator towards the edge of the field. "That's enough for us for the day. Come on, let's go find the others and see about getting something to eat. I'm thinking—"

"Barbecue," the original put in, to which the clone raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, I was thinking sushi," the clone denied, drawing a startled look from the original. "Barbecue is fine, though."

"Oi! Hinata-chan!" a voice called across the clearing, drawing the pair of Hinata's attention to where Naruto and Haku were making their way onto her training field.

The clone smiled. "Looks like they're a step ahead of us," she murmured, getting a nod in answer. "Come take my place, Naruto-kun," the clone suggested, drawing a nod from the blond as he took the arm the clone had been supporting while, unasked, Haku did the same on the opposite side.

"Rough day?" the hyouton user asked, drawing a smile.

"Productive, though," Hinata admitted as her clone dispersed. "Food?"

"Food," the blond confirmed as he and Haku set about leading the third member of their sort-of team off the field and into Konoha proper.

The trio squeezed through the door of Konoha's only barbecue restaurant—owned and operated by the Akimichi family—and set about looking for a place to sit, only to find themselves being waved over to an occupied table by an excited blonde. "Guys, over here!" the voice of one Yamanaka Ino called, directing them over to the table she was currently sharing with her team. As they took their seats, Team Ten give them a collective once-over before Ino asked, "So, who's the newcomer?"

"Guys, this is Haku-chan. Haku-chan, Team Ten: Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, and their sensei... uhhh..." Naruto shot Hinata a questioning look and the girl smiled.

"Sarutobi Asuma," she answered his unspoken question, before a grin split her face causing the members of Team Ten to flinch. "Otherwise known as 'the chain-smoker.'"

Asuma winced. "You've been hanging around Anko, then," he accused, getting a nod in answer. "Great. As if one of her wasn't bad though."

"Anko?" Ino asked, gossip senses tingling.

Shikamaru yawned, sipping his tea before answering, "Likely Mitarashi Anko—the proctor of the second stage of the exam." Seeing the blank look he received from his female teammate, he elaborated. "Forest of Death, crazy trench-coat wearing kunoichi, the one who came barreling into Morino Ibiki's exam room through the window with her own sign."

"Oh, right. The crazy woman," Ino nodded. "What's she got to do with anything?"

Hinata's smile was downright predatory. "Nothing much... save the fact that she is Kurenai-sensei's _other_lover, when she and your sensei inevitably break up."

Ino's eyes lit up at the scandal. "Ooh, a love triangle!"

Asuma palmed his face, seriously contemplating ordering another beer. "I knew you would be trouble, given what you did to your cousin—I just didn't know how much."

"Eh? Her cousin?" Chouji asked, having had the decency to swallow before doing so, only to immediately go back to his ribs.

"Neji," Shikamaru found himself answering again, drawing a nod from three separate blonds, along with Hinata herself.

Turning her attention away from her sensei's sordid love life, Ino asked, "So, what was up with that, anyway? I didn't actually catch the fight, but I remember waking up when something exploded and looking down to see you standing over him. We couldn't really hear what you said, though."

"Shikamaru has already figured it out," Hinata accused, drawing a tired sigh from the Nara in question. Instead of forcing the boy to answer, she decided to explain it herself. "You know the entire exam was rigged, from start to finish, right?" On the nods from Ino and Chouji, she continued. "Anko's exam was the only truly random stage of the whole thing, because no one could truly predict how the various teams would interact. By design, it was meant to cut our numbers in half—cull the weak from the rest of the group, really, seeing as any team who couldn't manage getting a simple scroll or defending their own wouldn't be worth watching in the finals. There was no need for a preliminary elimination round, given our numbers alone. The content of those numbers, however..." she shrugged. "We had to eliminate enough Konoha-nin to make it look like we weren't showing favoritism to our own genin. Beyond that, though, was the choices of who was matched against who—which heavily favored every major clan in Konoha, along with the Kazekage's children. Well, all but one match—mine."

"Wait, what?" Ino asked, eyes darting to Shikamaru to find the Nara nodding in agreement. "So, the match between you and your cousin was a setup?"

"There couldn't be two Hyuuga in the finals—it would piss off the foreigners, who paid good money to see their bloodbath and they wouldn't want to see two matches turn out basically identically. Not that they would, but the proctors had no way of knowing that. That, and it'd piss off the rest of the clans in Konoha if the Hyuuga had two members going in while everyone else had only one," Shikamaru explained, drawing a nod from both Hinata and Asuma.

"So then...?" Ino asked, drawing a small smile from the Hyuuga girl—one much the same as she'd worn just prior to beating Neji flat by using his own arrogance against him.

"Neji-_niisan_made the mistake of allowing his personal vendetta against our clan to cloud his judgment."

Seeing Ino didn't seem to understand, Naruto deadpanned, "Bastard was going to kill her."

Ino spluttered before turning to her sensei for confirmation. "But sensei, that's—"

Asuma shrugged. "It was within the rules," he murmured before turning his attention to the Hyuuga girl. "When did you figure it out?"

It was Hinata's turn to shrug as she answered, "I've known for a while now. The exam just gave him the chance he'd been looking for."

"Can... can we change the subject? This is getting depressing," Ino lamented, getting a nod of agreement from the Akimichi beside her.

"How's your training going?" the larger boy asked, wiping his fingers off on a napkin before taking up another rib.

Team Ten was mildly surprised when Naruto and Hinata shared a glance and a smile before answering in tandem, "Well enough." On the other side of Hinata from the blond, Haku rolled her eyes.

Ino's eyes widened as she scented gossip. Reaching across the table, she took the hands of the pair of girls opposite her before dragging them down to the far end of the table and away from the men of their teams. "This can not be good," Naruto mumbled.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru agreed.

Chouji snorted. "Looks like Ino's found something to gossip about."

"Don't say that too loudly," Asuma warned, voice sounding sage with wisdom. "You'll draw their wrath down on all of us. Never tease a woman about her need to gossip." It had gotten him into hot water with Kurenai more than once, after all—half his problem with her was his inability to keep his foot out of his mouth. Then again, in his experience, that seemed to hold for most interactions between men and women.

Finally, Naruto shrugged. "What about you, Shika? Any idea for your fight with... uh, that Suna chick?"

"Temari," Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Knowing Naruto, he had not only forgotten her name, but the fact that they were the next fight after his own with Hinata. "I think I'll try to convince her it's too much effort to fight and a game of shogi would be a better judge of where we stand on tactics."

On the other side of the table, Ino leaned in towards the two kunoichi opposite her, prompting Hinata and Haku to do the same. "I didn't believe it when Sakura told me, but you," she pointed at Hinata, "and Naruto!" she pointed at the blond on the other end of the table.

Hinata's smile was wide and entirely too reminiscent of the blond in question for the Yamanaka's comfort. This was _not _the girl she remembered from the academy. "Yes. Me and Naruto-kun." Hinata confirmed. She paused a beat, long enough for Ino to process the thought, and added, "And Haku-chan."

Had she been drinking something, Ino would have likely drowned. As it was, she spluttered a moment before shooting a wide-eyed look between the brunette and indigo-haired girl. Haku had gone still, her gaze turned towards the table as a small blush lit her face. "You did not have to say it like that," she murmured, embarrassment plain in her voice.

"You're not kidding," Ino accused, getting a shake of the head from both the kunoichi across from her. Huffing a sigh, she sat back and shook her head. "Wow. I mean, just, wow. Weren't you the _shy _one? And I had you figured for the possessive type, besides."

Hinata shrugged. "We all have to grow up sometime, Ino-chan. Some things are more important."

Ino flinched, knowing exactly what the Hyuuga girl meant—she would have to grow out of her infatuation with Sasuke at some point, seeing as the boy showed about as much attention towards her and Sakura as he would a pair of yapping dogs. At one time, she had thought that attitude was aloof and cool. Now, having seen how Naruto interacted with the pair across from her in even the short time they'd been at their table, she could see there was a world of difference between the blond and his bishonen teammate. She wanted to give Sasuke the benefit of the doubt and suggest that, given the trauma he'd gone through with losing his family at such a young age, he simply wasn't ready for any kind of relationship—except she knew that wasn't it. She'd heard enough whispered bits of conversation between her mother and father to know that Sasuke's one, driving goal at the moment was revenge—her father having been the head of Torture and Interrogation and Ibiki his second in command until shortly after the Uchiha massacre, and her father had been one of those in charge of assessing the state of Sasuke's mental health. Perhaps she should not have taken her father's suggestion to try to be his friend so far... Shaking her head, the Yamanaka loosed a sigh before turning to a more amusing topic. "So, is he any good?"

"A lady does not kiss and tell, Ino-chan," Hinata chastised.

Ino snorted. "Oh, is that all? I guess Sakura was wrong—"

"Nor does a lady make love for hours on end and tell," Haku interrupted, causing the blonde to twitch.

"No way," Ino denied. The answering smiles from the pair across from her were eerily identical—small, mysterious, and teasing. "With _both _of you?!"

Haku nodded. "And to think, after all these years knowing her, you never thought to ask Hinata-chan who won."

"'Who won?'" Ino echoed, watching as Hinata blushed minutely and shot a glare at her brunette counterpart.

"This is revenge, isn't it?" the Hyuuga girl asked, getting a nod from the hyouton user.

Seeing Ino was still confused, Haku leaned in closer. "You had a female classmate with a dojutsu that lets her see through stone as easily as clothes."

Ino froze before turning a predatory gaze on Hinata. "Who won?" she asked, now knowing exactly which contest the new girl was referring to. She had a sneaking suspicion already, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Chouji," Hinata deadpanned, drawing a blink from Ino. "Without cheating with his clan's techniques, even," the Hyuuga girl clarified, and was satisfied to see Ino's eyes shoot an incredulous look towards her teammate. "In case you're wondering, Naruto-kun came in second."

Nodding, Ino took the answer in stride. It made sense, in retrospect, given Hinata's near nervous breakdowns around the sun-haired boy in the past. Casting a glance around to make sure no one was paying them any attention, she whispered, "And Sasuke?" Dread welled up, cold and heavy in her stomach, as she took in Hinata's predatory leer.

"Dead. Last."

The two words the Uchiha had labeled the whisker-marked blond with that had stuck—even now, she occasionally heard those genin who had failed to make it onto teams and were stuck repeating until new team assignments refer to the boy as such when the subject came up. It was a bit ironic, then, that Hinata would label the Uchiha himself as such. Now she knew why Sakura was so reticent to talk about her conversation with Hinata, given that the Hyuuga girl apparently bore a grudge against everyone that had even remotely spurned her lover in the past. Shooting a glance at the pale-eyed girl, she asked, "You, uh... you aren't still mad about the academy? We were pretty horrible to Naruto then..."

Shrugging, the Hyuuga girl asked, "Are you going to keep being a bitch?"

Ino flinched. _'I deserved that,'_ she admitted. "No," she murmured.

"Apologize some day and we'll call it even," Hinata allowed, drawing a nod from the blonde across from her. "Now, how about we rejoin the others so we can see about getting something to eat? I'm kind of tired and hungry—it's been a long day."

As the pair shuffled back down the table, Haku asked, "Your arms were pretty much dead earlier. Am I going to have to help you eat?" Her tone was neither put out nor teasing, it was a simple statement of fact and an offer for assistance if the smaller girl needed.

Hinata blinked. Her arms were _still_ pretty much dead at the moment and she doubted she could so much as lift a chopstick. She had intended to ask Naruto, but since Haku was offering... "Please?" As the pair settled at Naruto's side, Hinata let her mind wander. _'This... is better than expected. It's nice, knowing I'm not alone any more.'_

* * *

_'It's going to be one of those days,'_ Anko decided, looking up from her almost-slain mountain of paperwork as the door to her office opened and her immediate superior/boss walked in, pulled out one of the guest chairs, and took a seat. Morino Ibiki then proceeded to _stare_.

"I'm not playing your game, Ibiki," Anko denied. "I refuse."

The scarred jonin grinned, crossing his arms and propping his feet up on her desk as though he owned it, and coincidentally sent the remaining stack of papers tumbling to the ground. "That's good, Anko. 'Cause if you're not playing mine, I want in on yours."

"Eh?" the woman asked, stalling for time by leaning over to pick up her paperwork. _'No windows on this level, he's between me and the door, and the vents narrow to impassible two meters in intentionally,' _she surmised her potential escape routes, coming up empty. Finally, she righted herself and her work and asked, "Have you been drinking on the job?"

The man in charge of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation department snorted. "You know, if anyone else had come to me with this, I'd have assumed the same thing." Seeing she was apparently going to play ignorant, he frowned. "Okay, let's start small—simple, basic, indisputable facts of life. One: you hate people."

"Well, I wouldn't say hate..."

"Bullshit," Ibiki countered. "Three months ago, I could count the number of people you could stand to be in the same room with and not start feeling twitchy on one hand and have fingers left over. Two: you hate men, especially."

Anko rolled her eyes. "I am not a man-hater."

"Okay, maybe I should say you have no trust in men—at least, as far as your sex life goes."

"Oi," the special jonin grunted. "You don't want to open that can of worms, Ibiki. If we're getting into each other's kinks and hangups in the bedroom, remember that I have way more dirt on you than you do on me."

"Maybe," he allowed. "But I'm consistent."

"A woman's prerogative is to change her mind."

"Not overnight—not on my watch and sure as hell not you. I know you better than that. Now I'd almost be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt—I know how you were biggest fan of Yondaime out of anyone in our age group—except that I also know you're not your sensei. You don't subscribe to the whole 'headbands are fair game' mentality, regardless of the fact that the law says they are. Three: you've outright said you would never pass on your sensei's techniques, and yet, here you are doing just that."

Anko was silent for several long moments before giving a quiet sigh. "I'd argue that maybe some good could come out of it—"

"But you'd be lying." On the woman's nod, he asked, "What the hell is going on with you and the Hyuuga girl? What's so special about her?" When she averted her eyes and refused to answer, Ibiki frowned. "Do I need to quarantine the both of you?"

"No."

Ibiki nodded. "Okay, give me a reason not to. Help me to help you. What are you doing?"

Anko wanted to lie—desperately wanted to lie, or refuse to answer, or leave. Unfortunately, none of those options would help now. While he didn't know the details, Ibiki knew enough and could ruin any chance she had at something _better_. Hinata would be upset, but it was either this or be brought in under suspicion of being an enemy agent. "Message in a bottle."

The scarred jonin blinked, slowly. Just as slowly, he sat up and pulled his feet off the desk, leaning forward to regard the woman across the desk from him with a look so intense she nearly bolted anyway. "I should call bullshit. I should bring her and you both in and get what I want to know the hard way." Rubbing away an impending headache, he gave a resigned sigh before shaking his head. "But I won't—if you can tell me what makes you think you're right."

"Aside from casual displays of knowledge she shouldn't have and being able to predict events with high-nineties percent accuracy?" On the man's nod, she shrugged. "You haven't met her. There was real desperation there—and I know how to tell the difference between fakers and the real thing. It was like looking at someone who'd just spent a few years in your care and finally got to see the light of day again. But give her the least little ray of hope and she seizes it—the girl is driven like I've never _seen_before. If I'm being totally honest, it's a little frightening sometimes. Wonderful, but scary."

"So what's your play, then?"

The special jonin gave a quiet, rueful chuckle. "You know, when I actually started believing she could do it, I worried she'd played me. It would be so easy for her to—even without what she can do, she's becoming a natural infiltrator. So, I tried to make her panic the best way I knew how. I took away her control."

"You didn't."

"I did," Anko admitted. "She passed."

"You're an idiot." Seeing her roll her eyes, Ibiki was sorely tempted to throw something at the woman.

"Maybe. But my gut was right," she gloated.

"So, since she didn't break, now what are you up to?"

The playful look dropped off the woman's face and honey-gold eyes focused on Ibiki's own brown with laser intensity. "I want this seal _gone_. Add that to your list." Seeing him slowly nod, she continued. "I think she can do it. If not today, then some day soon. But what most appeals to me is the idea that not only can she remove it in the here and now, if I make nice and convince her I'm worth keeping around—as a friend, a sensei, teammate, confidante, fuckbuddy, or whatever else works—then when she eventually undoes all of this, she'll remove this damn seal before I'm twenty. I am pretty sure my younger self would be damn eager to repay the favor any way possible, so we both gain something out of it. The blondaime clone is just icing on a very nice cake."

Ibiki hummed slowly before nodding. "So, not the long game, but the _very _long game."

"Yeah," Anko murmured. "What are you going to do about it?"

"For now? Nothing," Ibiki shrugged, drawing a suspicious look from his second-in-command. "After the exam, though, I'll have to report this to Hokage-sama and let him decide. At the moment, Sarutobi's got too much shit on his plate without having to deal with this too."

"Which way will you argue?"

Thinking it over a moment, Ibiki asked, "You trust her?" He was surprised when she nodded, but more surprised when she explained.

"She's... she's not the kind of person who would abandon the people who have made her what she is. She's almost like blondie, like that—once you've earned her trust, it's almost impossible to lose it." After a moment, she added, "Of course, unlike blondie, I get the feeling that if you truly cross her she won't just kill you, she'll go the extra mile and _unmake _you."

"And what would it take for that to happen?"

Anko snorted. "That's easy. Neji? He only killed her. Leaving him broken and humbled was about enough to leave them even, in her book. Harm one hair on Naruto's blond little head and you'll find out just how far she'll _really _go."

"I see," Ibiki murmured. "She's dangerous."

"Yeah, but then, so am I and I haven't killed anybody I wasn't told to."

Finally, the scarred jonin shrugged. "I'm withholding judgment until I see her for myself. However, if she's stable and loyal to Konoha, I could give two shits about whatever she's got planned for Uzumaki if it doesn't involve killing him, unsealing the Kyuubi, or removing him from the village. All that matters is that she does right by the village."

"I don't think you have to worry about that." On his curious look, her grin returned. "All her favorite people are here."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**And there you have Anko's reasoning. There is little to nothing she would not do, if it meant being free of her own special little hell.

Yes, Hinata has taken a slightly more pragmatic approach towards her and Naruto's relationship, taking a page from the Hyuuga's and Uchiha's own books.

On clones: pulling a page from TMH on their use, namely that overuse of the technique leads to psychological fragmentation and eventual mental breakdown, unless one is already damaged in such a way that it wouldn't affect them, realizes it's happening and does something about it, is particularly self-aware, or particularly strong-willed. Naruto falls in that last category-but even his sheer, stubborn willpower can only go so far, thus his clones occasionally acting out but their own breaks not having much of an effect on him. At this point, Hinata is now aware of the danger, but unsure if there is anything she can do and her adapt-or-die mentality doesn't lead to the strict mental discipline needed to resist it entirely.


	5. 0444

**The Life and Times**

* * *

_"At times, my gift has occasionally seemed more like a curse than a blessing. I have watched those I love die time and time again, and I have never once hesitated to come to their aid. I always, always knew that what I did could not possibly come without some kind of payment in return. Everything comes at a price—some things are just more costly than others. Other times, one never realizes the true cost of something until it's far too late. Miracles are not cheap, and often times not truly miracles at all."_

* * *

_'Tomorrow,' _the thought echoed through Hinata's head as she stretched and glanced to her left where Naruto lay flush against her side. On the blond's other side, Haku snored quietly and Hinata could just make out a small trail of drool soaking the blond's shoulder. By mutual agreement, she and Naruto had decided that they would take the day off and spend it with Haku, taking in the festivities around the village now that the exam was only a day out. It had been a long, hard month and there wasn't much either of them could do as far as last-minute preparations went—in fact, they were likely to do more harm than good, seeing as they would either be tired by the time they stepped into the arena or one of them could potentially injure themselves.

Yawning, Hinata reached an arm across the blond and shook the girl opposite him awake. Haku blinked, quickly coming fully awake and wiping away the trail of drool she'd left. "Should we wake him?" she asked, regarding the still-sleeping blond below her.

Hinata shook her head, focusing her attention across the room. A moment later, a clone sprang into being nude as her creator—minus the typical smoke cloud. "Breakfast first," Hinata countered as the clone pulled on the original's clothes from the previous day and set out to find just that.

"Neat trick," Haku praised, though the curiosity was evident in her voice. She hadn't seen the younger girl seal, but she'd felt the chakra build and move—and not the typical kage bunshin level of chakra, either. The other girl had simply glanced at the foot of the bed and willed a yuurei bunshin into existence, skipping the intermediate step of needing to pull power back from a standard clone.

Shaking her head, the indigo-haired girl smiled. "Nun-uh. I'm saving that for tomorrow," Hinata denied.

Nodding, Haku made herself comfortable and settled in to wait on breakfast. "Fair enough. Any idea what Naruto-kun has planned for today?"

"Not a clue," Hinata sighed, likewise settling in to wait. "Hopefully, it involves sweets."

The pair had fallen silent and nearly drifted off to sleep again when Hinata's clone made her return, eye twitching as she took in the trio. "Lazy," she grumbled before kicking the bed and jarring them to wakefulness. "Wake up!"

"Nn," Naruto groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Hinata-chan, your clones are mean in the morning."

"I'm not mean, I brought you ramen," the clone denied, causing the blond to perk up instantly as she handed him a bowl fresh from Ichiraku's. Dango and cinnamon buns were distributed, along with tea, before the clone found a good place to drop Hinata's clothes and disappeared—with a distinct lack of noise, smoke, or other tell-tale signs of clone dispersal. Thankfully, Naruto completely failed to notice.

After breakfast and a cramped shower, the trio made their way out into the streets of Konoha, where vendors were already setting up stands for the day—colorful streamers and advertising for their various wares having been put up in the week leading up to the final stage of the exam. The blond lead them deeper into the market district, towards the square where the majority of the temporary stalls would be set up—the vast majority of which were foriegn traders in Konoha specifically for the exam. It also meant that it was one of the few times in his life that the blond could enjoy a festival without worry of being turned out by the proprietors or worse.

"Ooh, pretty," Hinata murmured, distracting the blond as she shot off towards one of the nearby stands. A moment later, she came back with a wide smile, in her hands and propped against her shoulder an unfolded bamboo umbrella, patterned with sakura blossoms across a starry night scene.

"I didn't take you for one to like that sort of thing," Haku pointed out, to which the Hyuuga girl replied by sticking out her tongue.

Naruto sent a grin at the hyouton user. "I'll get you one if you want, Haku-chan."

To her credit, Haku only faltered for a moment before shaking her head. "N-no thank you, Naruto-kun," she demurred, drawing a chuckle from the Hyuuga girl.

"I should have worn a yukata," Hinata lamented much later in the day as the trio made off with a bag full of goldfish and leaving behind one stand owner wondering why he ever thought the typical goldfish scooping game would do as well in a ninja village as it would in a civilian one.

"I... do not have one appropriate to a festival," Haku murmured, drawing the Hyuuga girl's attention.

Between them, Naruto shrugged. "Never had a use for one," he denied.

"You're getting one," Hinata decided, sending Haku a smile. After a moment, she rolled her eyes at the blond's suddenly stubborn look. "You don't have to if you don't want to, Naruto-kun."

"Good," the boy huffed.

Having a pretty good guess where the boy's protests were going, Haku murmured, "They aren't just for girls, Naruto-kun."

"I—I know that," the blond stuttered, blushing. "Just, not for me."

Two stops later—one to pick up a yukata for Haku, the other to drop off their spoils so far and to allow Hinata and Haku to change—the blond found himself bracketed by a pair of much different-looking girls and it was all he could do to keep his face from going red. Yukata were notoriously thin, and he could feel their warmth seeping into his skin from the contact. "We should find a goldfish bowl," Haku suggested, getting a nod from Naruto as she thankfully provided him a distraction from his current dilemma.

Supper was an odd affair, to say the least. The trio had stumbled on Team Ten, minus Asuma, and the two groups had merged. Shortly after, they found Sakura looking forlornly at a collection of glass jewelry and Ino couldn't leave the girl on her own. Coming across two thirds of the Sand team had been unexpected, but the duo had reluctantly agreed to join the larger group of genin—Kankuro without his cat-suit and battle paint, and Temari oddly enough wearing her own yukata as seemed to be the trend amongst the females. Somehow, Naruto managed to convince the group as a whole to settle on Ichiraku's with little arguing to the contrary—Sakura even managed to contain her usual temper, given the fact that they were in mixed company.

"So, is there anything else to do in this town?" Kankuro asked as the group left the ramen stand, night having fallen hours ago and paper lanterns of all colors now lightning the streets.

Hinata took in the group at large before shooting a grin at Naruto. "Pub?"

There came a collective blink from the gathered genin, save for from the two most familiar with her. "Pub?" came the oddly-echoed question from more mouths than Naruto cared to name off.

"Pub," the whiskered blond agreed.

"Why are we going to a pub?" Sakura thought to ask, drawing nods from many of the others—especially given that there was more than one exam finalist in the group.

Rolling her eyes, Haku adopted a put-upon expression. "To watch Anko drink and fondle some poor foreign kunoichi."

"That, and the other jonin are probably already there, which means we can eavesdrop on the betting," Hinata pointed out.

"Betting?" Chouji asked, even as the group followed the Naru-Hina-Haku trio towards Mitarashi Anko's usual haunt.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, didn't you know?"

On the larger boy's negative, the eldest of the Suna siblings shook his head. "It's been going on all week. There are always huge betting pools at these things." Of course, things wouldn't turn out quite how the Konoha-nin thought come tomorrow... but it wouldn't hurt to tag along, even if he would be on opposite sides of the battlefield from pretty much everyone there but his sister, it didn't mean they shouldn't enjoy themselves for a single night with a group their own age. Given things in Suna weren't all that great and Gaara's off-putting presence, neither sibling was going to refuse the offer even if they could be fighting any one of the others in their little group the next day.

"You realize this is a bad idea?" Shikamaru asked, even as the doors parted and the pub/bar in question fell silent for a long moment as the group trickled in.

Grinning, Naruto asked, "What could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

"Murgle," Temari groaned, trying and failing to roll over as the light from outside finally reached her eyes. The weight on her chest shifted and an arm came to rest over her eyes, prompting the Suna kunoichi to smile. Apparently, some kind-hearted soul had taken pity on her poor retinas. Relaxing, she took stock of her surroundings as she slowly came closer to fully awake. Aside from the warm, soft body currently using her own as a pillow, another lay to her immediate right and had pinned her arm during the night. Everything from her head down was pleasantly sore in a way she would have associated with a particularly good workout, if she wasn't already familiar with that particular feeling and this one bore only a vague resemblance to it.

The Suna kunoichi was jarred from her thoughts by the sudden, shrill shrieking of an alarm-clock going off at a deafening volume entirely too close to her head for comfort. One movement of her free arm later, the clock was silenced—and not by the snooze button. Oddly, she'd heard more than one impact and had felt a brief flare of chakra other than her own from more than one source. Shifting her head enough to see the clock from under the arm over her eyes, she took stock of its damage. There was the rent she'd expected down its middle, caused by her own wind blade—however, in addition to that, she spotted a trio of senbon that seemed to be composed entirely of ice and a single kunai.

"Go back to sleep," a voice above her murmured, and Temari was tempted to do just that. "We've still got an hour before we have to be at the arena."

_That _woke the Suna kunoichi right up. Only an hour until the exam, which meant perhaps two hours until the combined Sound/Sand invasion of Konoha, lead by her father and Orochimaru. She and her brothers were to be a key fixture of the initial attack, protecting Gaara long enough for him to let the bijuu sealed within him loose and then taking out anyone the tanuki didn't. The problem with that was that she was deep in enemy territory at the moment—so deep, in fact, that she didn't even recognize her surroundings. As if sensing her thoughts, the arm covering her eyes moved and she found herself staring into a pair of pale, lavender eyes she vaguely recognized from the night before framed by indigo hair. "Why am I in your bed?" she asked, even as recognition skittered across her brain, bringing with it memories of the girl in question—and the blond to her right, and the brunette laying half on top of the blond. Temari blushed.

Hinata's grin was more akin to a leer. "You're getting entirely too good at that," a voice interrupted the Hyuuga girl before she could speak, drawing her eyes momentarily to the brunette ice-user.

"Infiltration specialist," Hinata deadpanned. Her grin returned. "And I didn't even need a day this time."

"'Infiltration specialist,'" Temari repeated, glancing between the indigo-haired girl and her brunette counterpart. "You _infiltrated _my pants!" the girl accused, unsure whether to settle on being annoyed or embarrassed.

"Well. Yes," Hinata acknowledged. As Anko has explained it, it wasn't so much about seduction as it was about learning how to approach and manipulate people into acting as she needed. Seducing a single kunoichi with little to no warning and without cheating was the least she should be able to do, according to the special jonin. Even without her particular ability to bend time, she should be able to approach anyone as though they were old friends and get information or more from them at will with just a few simple words. "So, Temari-chan, whisper all your secrets to me," the Hyuuga girl smiled—it was pleasant enough, but judging by the Suna kunoichi's sudden tension, it may as well have been the I'll-eat-you-alive smile. Hinata hummed, eyes narrowing on the blonde as she twitched at the scrutiny. _'Oh dear,'_ Hinata mused, even as several details clicked into place. Orochimaru marking the Uchiha with the same seal that had marred Anko's flesh for years, two Sound teams in the exam and one of them goes out of their way to pick a fight with Team Seven _every single time_, three Suna teams in the exam—two of which mysteriously manage to drop out during the second stage of the exam with no casualties or injuries—and only one team actually taking part in the finals, the unease and whispers amongst the Konoha jonin this past month about some potential conflict, and a warning from _Anko_ of all people the day before to _be careful _of all things considering the woman knew what she was capable of.

"Haku-chan?" Hinata asked, all smiles and teasing as she inched closer to the blonde kunoichi below her, lips descending towards the Suna girl's own.

"Mm?" murmured the hyouton user, who had opted to take the Hyuuga girl's advice and get a few more minutes of rest.

"Wall."

It was not a request, it was a command—and by the suddenly deadly-serious tone, Haku knew something was _not right_. Clenching slightly, she exhaled and the ambient room temperature dropped to just below freezing as pipes in their apartment and those surrounding suddenly burst as they were flash-frozen, moisture stripped from the air, toilets, sinks, and where ever else she could pull from as a sphere of icy death suddenly formed around the bed so thickly as to blot out the sun. "I take it you had a good reason for asking me to alert every jonin within a three block radius to our presence?"

"Oh yes," Hinata murmured, as below her Temari's eyes darted from Hinata, to Haku, to the avalanche of senbon waiting to fall on her and blocking her escape.

Finding no obvious means of escape, the kunoichi decided hostage negotiation was in order. "I'll kill him," she threatened quietly, palm going flat against the back of the still obliviously-sleeping blond beside her.

Hinata hummed a moment before shaking her head, smiling. "No, you won't—and I'll give you three reasons why." Seeing she had the Suna kunoichi's attention, she elaborated. "Firstly, Naruto-kun is your only potential way out of here—and that isn't happening. Secondly, if you do, any good will I may have towards you will cease to be and I will make the remainder of your very _short_ life miserable—and I'm sure Haku-chan will be more than willing to help." On the brunette's nod, Hinata continued. "Thirdly, if you defect now, I can put in a good word with Anko-sensei—Mitarashi Anko, second in command of Torture and Interrogation. Tell us everything you know, willingly, and I can promise we won't harm a hair on your pretty little head."

"There... there isn't much in it for me," Temari denied. "If I don't, you'll kill me here. If I do, I still have to show up to the exam—otherwise, my sensei will know I've been captured. If I do show up, you risk me signaling him and kicking the whole thing off right there—and I will likely be killed, either by your side or my own. If not, if I somehow manage to survive the day, then eventually someone will come for me and that will be it for me. So, I ask you again, what's in it for me?"

Humming again, Hinata turned her eyes on the brunette at her side. "Haku-chan?"

"She can be very persuasive," Haku warned. "Why do you think I'm here?"

Temari blinked. "You wouldn't..." she trailed off, seeing the girl's slowly widening grin. "Are you asking me to join your sick little harem?"

Pouting, Hinata's eyes narrowed. "You weren't complaining last night."

"Well... no," the Suna kunoichi mumbled.

Hinata nodded. "Besides, I'm not asking you. I'm telling you," she clarified, drawing a raised blonde brow. "Death, a life spent constantly looking over your shoulder in a village that will never see you as anything other than an outsider and a traitor, or a life spent waking up every morning next to people who love you—those are your options. If you don't defect, you die. If you do, but you refuse me, I guarantee the only reason anyone will ever take you in is either because of your looks, whatever skills you have as a wind user, or as leverage against your father. You know who I am—know who my family is. Take the third option, and no one in the village will dare so much as speak ill of you for fear of retribution." Hinata very carefully did not mention that she planned to abandon that family at the earliest convenience and was currently at odds with them as it stood. She had an opportunity here, and she'd be damned before she wasted it. The Suna kunoichi could prove very useful, in the short-to-mid term and she wasn't akin to extending it to long term if things turned out well.

Temari was silent several long minutes as she thought it over, eyes occasionally drifting between the entirely-too-dangerous Hyuuga girl above her to the more-immediately-dangerous sphere of death surrounding them. In two of those three scenarios, she would be dead likely within the year. While there was no love lost between herself and her father, she still loved her brothers—even if one of them was a bigger pervert than the Hyuuga girl and the other was more terrifying by far. Could she abandon her village, her family? Closing her eyes, she smiled slightly. Oh, the village she could abandon in a heartbeat. Her family, on the other hand...

"I'll even let you collect your brothers, so long as they promise to behave," Hinata offered, again seemingly reading her mind.

With a chuckle, the blonde shook her head. "What choice do I have, then? Fine. Where do I sign?"

"Oh, you don't," Hinata denied. "I do. Naruto-kun, I need a brush and ink."

Temari blinked as the blond slid out from under Haku and made his way towards the dresser, Haku's field of death having expanded to allow him to pass. "Wait, how long was he awake?!"

Hinata simply smiled. "Oh, since just before the clock went off."

The blond in question chuckled, sheepishly rubbing his head even as he returned with the requested items. "Sorry about that. I was too excited to sleep much."

Taking brush and ink, Hinata shoved off the covers and made her way far enough down the blonde beneath her to have access to her chest. "Unfortunately, as much as we would like to trust you Temari-chan, we can not quite yet."

"I know," the girl murmured, twitching as the indigo-haired girl began to draw. "What is that?"

The smile the Hyuuga girl sent the blonde chilled her blood. "An explosive seal," she answered simply, eliciting a brief twitch from the blonde below her. "I've been studying under Jiraiya a while now, and this is a pretty simple seal designed to incapacitate enemy ninja. You see, it's not just a simple explosive seal, to be triggered with chakra—oh, it can do that, but it does more. It's got a timer, too, and all sorts of nifty stuff—like a matching proximity seal." Even as the words left her mouth, a clone of the girl phased into being on the bed, brush in hand, and began applying ink to the Hyuuga girl. "Basically, this is your leash for the day, Temari-chan. Leave my sight, you die. Signal your team or anyone else, you die. Get outside of fifty meters from me, you die. Lift a blade, you die. I die, you die. You get the idea." The seal was easy enough to draw—at its base, it was identical to the one she'd added to her own growing array. Jiraiya had given her the key to her own freedom should she ever be captured and incapacitated in such a way that rendered her unable to reset herself. Of course, hers was a bit more complex than Temari's, but then that was mostly because she had to plan for more contingencies than she had to for the blonde.

"Yeah," Temari deadpanned. "And what's the timer set for?"

"Twenty-four hours, given optimal circumstances. So, you'd better hope this little invasion doesn't take all day, seeing as I may not have time to remove it." Seeing the blonde's contemplative look, she smiled. "Oh, and don't bother trying to disarm it yourself or having someone do it for you. It has to be done in a very specific order and if someone tampers with it..."

"I die," Temari surmised, getting a nod in answer.

Beside the pair, Naruto shook his head—having taken the time to get dressed and now handing Haku a set of her own clothes. "Scary, Hinata-chan."

"Such is the life of a ninja," Haku murmured, and strangely enough the blonde laid bare on the bed nodded in agreement.

"I knew what I was getting into when I put on the headband. Honestly, this is a better outcome than I could have probably expected, were this anywhere else," the Suna kunoichi admitted. "After all, your girlfriend only wants to keep me as her own personal pet. In Stone or Lightning, I'd be sold off as breeding stock or worse, or executed outright. The only shinobi who aren't simply executed are kunoichi and those with bloodlines—you guys have it easy. It's part of why I fucking hated this village—all of your goddamn lazy genin, who had no clue the world of shit they willingly walked into."

"And now?" Hinata asked, not looking up from her seal work.

Temari shrugged. "At least someone here has their shit together," she sighed. "Even if one of them is painting a bomb between my boobs and the other still looks like she hasn't decided whether or not I'd look better with a few extra piercings."

Nodding, Hinata smiled—it was not a particularly nice smile. "Now now, you should be nice to Haku-chan. After all, she is the only one of us not in the exam today—which means she gets to spend the whole day by your side."

"Great," the Suna kunoichi grumped.

"I have a Kiri headband stashed somewhere," Haku suggested, to which the Hyuuga nodded. Hopefully, none of the Suna or Oto ninja would remember the hyouton user's face and would dismiss her presence as the blonde having simply made a new friend—or even a potential recruit.

* * *

Hinata smiled from her place at Naruto's side as, several meters ahead of them, Haku hung off Temari's side and the pair exchanged furtive looks and whispers as though they were new lovers—which, technically, they were. As they made their way into the stadium where the final stage of the exam was to be held, Anko approached the pair. "So, how're you brats holding up?" the special jonin asked, dropping into step beside them. Her eyes tagged Haku making nice with the Suna kunoichi and she sent a look towards her pseudo-apprentice. She knew damn well the Hyuuga girl and the blond had claimed the hyouton user as their own, and the fact that she was by herself with a kunoichi from another village—not to mention wearing a headband from Kiri considering Anko herself had been the one to give the former pseudo missing-nin her Konoha headband—meant something was up. The look she got from Hinata pretty much confirmed it.

"Well, I haven't read that story yet," the Hyuuga girl hummed, drawing a slow nod from Anko—meaning this was Hinata's first run-through of the day.

_'Damnit. Well, at least she seems to have found something useful,' _the special jonin mused. "I meant the exam, student-of-mine."

"Eh, it's no big deal," the blond shrugged. Anko's eyebrows went up a hair. "We're pretty sure we know how our match is going to turn out already."

Anko wanted to ask, find out if the pair had confirmed the participants of the suspected invasion, but there was no way to do it safely—there were simply too many eyes on them at the moment. "Well..." she sighed, trailing off before shaking her head. There was really only one thing she could say, given the circumstances. "Good luck, brats."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Getting all misty-eyed, Anko-sensei?"

"Shut it, you," the special jonin growled, only to be silenced a moment later as a smaller body slipped into her personal space and she found herself in the embrace of her almost-apprentice. Looking down, mostly concealed against her chest, Hinata's eyes smiled back—the mischievous smile. That was when Anko felt it—the younger girl's hands had slipped under her coat, hiding them from prying eyes, and were even now slipping what felt like paper down the back of her pants. Not in her pocket, but directly against her flesh. Anko's eye twitched, even as the girl grinned wider at getting away with copping a feel in public.

"Thank you," Hinata murmured, slipping away from the special jonin and retaking Naruto's hand, pulling him along to where she could make out Temari leading Haku up the stairs and into the section reserved for the participants.

Seeing she now had an opportunity, Anko cast around for a likely target before grinning and sidling up to a familiar red-eyed jonin—who had apparently showed up with the chain-smoker. Putting aside her irritation, Anko pulled her part-time lover away from the Sarutobi heir and set about feeling her up. "Hello, Kure-chan. Come to see how your cutest student does?" she asked, even as Kurenai twitched at her public molestation.

"Of course," Kurenai smiled, only for it to almost slip as Anko's fingers began tapping out a pattern against her ribs. _'Intel?' _Kurenai raised an eyebrow and slipped her hand under the special jonin's jacket. One covert frisking later, she found the note and palmed it before Anko extricated herself from her grasp.

"Well, I've got to go see if I can't sucker Kakashi-baka and that clown Gai into a decent bet. Later," Anko waved, wandering off into the crowd.

Asuma hummed, regarding his on-again girlfriend as she rejoined his side. "What was that about?"

"Anko's jealous," Kurenai deadpanned, even as she slipped the note into his pants pocket.

Asuma's eyebrows twitched. "Is that so?" he asked, getting a nod in answer. "Well, go see if you can catch up to her. I'm heading to the bathroom, then I've got to go put in an appearance with dad." So saying, the habitual smoker yawned and fished out a cigarette before heading for the nearest men's room. Picking the closest stall, he unzipped his fly and waited. He didn't have to wait long, as he was just zipping up again when the door leading outside opened and heavy footsteps marched into the restroom. Stepping out of the stall, he nearly bumped into a large, dark-haired boy that bore a passing resemblance to an Akimichi. "Excuse me," Asuma murmured, slipping by the other man and making for the sink. He didn't even bother turning around as his right hand twitched and a blade of wind pierced the teen's forehead, partly bisecting his skull and its contents.

"Too damn loud," he chastised as the body slid to the floor, the boy's palmed kunai dropping beside him. Moving to the door, he locked it before turning his attention back to the youth now bleeding out across the formerly-white tile. "Now, what was so important that you had to die for it?" he wondered, fishing the note out and reading it. _'So, it's true then. Suna and Oto really plan to attack today, as soon as the Kazekage's youngest fights. And he's a jinchuriki weapon of mass destruction, fucking fantastic. But who...'_ he mused as his eyes skimmed the rest of the note before coming to the signature. "Oh, she's _good._"

Asuma blinked as more text caught his eye. _'P.S., the Kazekage's daughter is mine. Hands off!'_ he read, even as his eye twitched. Shaking his head, he ripped the note to shreds before flinging the remains into the nearest toilet and flushing it. _'By my count, I've got two minutes before this asshole's teammates come looking for him,' _he guessed, giving the body a once over and finding a Sound headband, confirming his suspicions. As he was turning away, his eyes caught sight of something familiar and he turned back to the fresh corpse, hand slowly reaching out and brushing aside the boy's collar. There, where neck joined shoulder, was a mark he had seen enough times to know what it was an just how bad things had gotten—his attempted murderer bore one of Orochimaru's little cursed seals, similar but distinctly different from that on his girlfriend's best friend. Washing his hands of blood at the sink, he made his way to the door and unlocked it, stepping outside calmly. Nearby, he spotted a face that had become familiar in the last month around the jonin lounge, bars, and training fields. Raising a hand, he waved the taller ninja over.

"What's up?" came the gravely baritone of one Momochi Zabuza.

Asuma sighed, shaking his head. "Some kid made a goddamn mess in there," he said, jerking his thumb back towards the restroom. "You mind keeping people out while I go find a cleanup crew? Wouldn't want to spoil some poor noble's lunch, now would we?"

Zabuza blinked, for once grateful he lacked eyebrows as they would have been a dead giveaway at the moment. Shrugging, he grinned under his mask. "Eh, sure. Nothing better to do. Hurry it up, though. I want to see that blond brat fight." As the Sarutobi made his way out of the arena, Zabuza leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. A figure approaching sent his eyes down to his watch. _'A minute thirty, not bad,' _he mused as a silver-haired young man with an odd lump on his back drew near, apparently intent on using the facilities. Before his hand made it to the door, Zabuza's arm barred his path. "Sorry, brat. Facilities are off limits. Some fatass shit all over the goddamn floor. Go find another."

The sound-nin twitched at the description of his teammate before turning his eyes to size up the ninja barring his path. Nearly seven feet of Momochi Zabuza glared back down, a sword nearly as long as he was strapped quite visibly to his back. "Right, guess I'll just head to the ones upstairs," he sighed, turning and heading for the stairs.

Zabuza didn't have to wait long before a pair of ninja in overalls strolled up to the restroom. "Konoha Janitorial Division," one he recognized as Morino Ibiki despite the white mask covering his mouth and the bandanna over his head introduced himself.

"You guys need an extra hand to push a mop?" the taller ninja asked—really meaning if they were going to need backup retrieving what was obviously a body and getting it back to T&I for examination. Getting a shake of the head from the other two ninja, he shrugged. "Eh, have fun then."

* * *

Temari sighed as she leaned against the railing overlooking the arena, causing the unnaturally cold hand resting gently atop her own to twitch slightly—a reminder she didn't need that one of the people holding her leash was still within easy stabbing distance. "Nervous, Temari-chan?" the brunette asked, drawing an eye-roll from her captive.

"A little. I've heard Nara is pretty good," she admitted, making small talk. It wouldn't do to arouse suspicions, after all. Thankfully, she was spared having to make further meaningless conversation as the Hokage stood in his box and called the exams to a start. From the center of the large expanse of land that made up the arena, a jonin chewing what looked to be a senbon from this distance called the first names and Temari repressed a twitch as the other two individuals holding her leash made their way down into the arena side by side.

Hinata smiled as, across from her, Naruto grinned—the pair of them tuning out the spectators in their entirety. "Ready?" called the proctor, drawing a nod from both. "Begin!"

As soon as the senbon-chewing jonin cleared the immediate vicinity, Naruto's hands were in motion. Hinata shook her head—she knew he didn't actually need to seal for clones any more and that it was for the benefit of those watching, but still. "No clones," she smiled and, even as a score of orange-clad blonds popped into existence around them, they began dropping like flies.

"Too fast," the blond murmured, dumping more chakra into the technique only to be met with the same result—only faster, this time. To his eyes, being closer than anyone else, he could just barely make out tiny flashes of blue light that he identified as chakra impacting every clone _as they formed_. To those in the stands, a horde of orange-clad copies of the boy formed only to disappear an instant later, leaving the area around the pair of combatants shrouded in smoke momentarily. Most assumed one of two things—either the blond's technique was failing, or his intent was to limit visibility. The few Hyuuga in the stands who had bothered to activate their kekkai genkai saw the truth of the matter.

"F-father, what _is _that?" Hanabi asked, even as her father's knuckles went white and the arm rests of his seat creaked ominously. Around her sister floated hundreds of strands of light—what she knew to be chakra. Along each of those strands moved anywhere from one to a dozen individual pinpricks of light—a field of stars orbiting her elder sister, to her eyes.

"The Sakura Grove," Hiashi breathed, not turning his eyes away from his eldest daughter, even as he answered. "I made a mistake. It would seem Hinata is not useless after all."

Hanabi's mouth gaped in disbelief. "What?"

"Hush, Hanabi. Keep watching," Hiashi reprimanded, silencing the girl. Even from this distance, he could make out Hinata's smile as she shot the blond an inquisitive look.

"So... Nifty, huh?" she asked, drawing a laugh from the blond.

Scratching his head, Naruto had the decency to blush. "Yeah. I'd hoped you wouldn't be able to do it, but Anko was right. I should've known better. Oh well. My turn!"

Hinata twitched as the blond sent her a grin that meant nothing but trouble, and then promptly stepped out of her immediate range—disappearing, only to reappear halfway across the ring, well outside of his own line of sight. While she had guessed he would have thrown himself into mastering shunshin, she had not thought he'd be able to do so to such a level. She rolled her eyes as he brought up his hands, again. Holding out her own arm, she yelled, "Clones are still forbidden!"

Naruto twitched as, once more, his army was cut down before him. "Well. Shit," he grumbled. Shrugging, he promptly pulled off his weapons pouches and emptied their contents on the ground before snapping them back on. Stepping into shunshin, he dropped out just outside the range of his lover's hands. "Duck," he warned, even as he stepped back into shunshin.

Hinata barely had time to process the boy's warnings before the trail of chakra following him caught her eye—hazy and less distinct than chakra strings, but still barely visible. Reacting on instinct, she dropped into her own shunshin, coming out several meters to the left of her original position in time to watch a veritable swarm of bladed weaponry intercept the space she'd occupied only a moment before. She twitched as, instead of continuing along their current course, they curved to follow the blond's second shunshin before pulling into a tight orbit around the boy in what might as well be a wall of steel as far as getting past it went—or, more accurately, a meat grinder. "That... that is not chakra strings," Hinata accused, scrutinizing the technique more closely.

"Nope!" the blond confirmed. He gave her a moment to digest that before disappearing again, and kicking off a high-speed game of tag, as Hinata likewise moved to dodge. Three jumps later, something bowled him over as he came out of the technique and he lost his grip on his ordinance, sending shuriken and kunai flying into the small forested area to embed in the trees there. Standing, he dusted himself off and shot a curious look at the indigo-haired girl. "What was that?"

"Hm?" she asked, grinning. When the blond twitched, her grin widened. "This?"

"Ah crap," the blond gulped, suddenly forced to dodge as the girl's hand blurred and the ground around him exploded a moment later. More worrying was the fact that he had to dodge again, and again, and _again_ as he came out of yet another shunshin. _'Not good, not good, not good...'_ the blond panicked slightly, making a break for the far end of the field. _'Going to have to use it, after all.'_

Watching her blond lover reappear outside the effective range of most of her techniques, Hinata nodded. _'Okay, then,'_ she mused, even as the blond began looking around to plot his next move. He froze, eyes locking to hers as her stance shifted—left arm towards him and hand open, body side-on to her target, feet shoulder-width apart, right arm coming up to draw... _'Visualization is the key. Naruto-kun explained it time and time again, visualization and willpower.'_ Taking a deep breath, she _focused_. _'Transformation from nothing, transformation from nothing, transformation from nothing...'_

Naruto twitched as a word reached him across the field, even as something came into being in the girl's hands that likely shouldn't be possible and yet he knew it was—it was mostly his own idea, after all. If one could create clones, and each of those clones was all equipped with everything the original had possessed, then it stood to reason one could skip the intermediate step and simply produce nearly anything with chakra and focus. Apparently, she'd beaten him to it. "Materialization."

Above them, a very select few realized just what it was the girl had done. Even a vast majority of the jonin present simply passed it off as summoning a pre-sealed weapon. Those that saw it for what it was could almost be counted on one hand. Momochi Zabuza, who had been on the receiving end of Naruto's particular henge, had a pretty good idea just what it was, but suspected it was more along the lines of the boy's clone-and-transform technique. Hyuuga Hiashi would have disagreed—he had seen his daughter's chakra in action as it had simply twisted the bow into being with no intermediary steps between whatever transformation technique she'd used or any type of bunshin, and what's more she had done it without seals—creating something from next-to-nothing. Mitarashi Anko gawked, having the unique perspective—unique, aside from Hatake Kakashi—to have spent enough time around the blond to have seen both his kage bunshin and henge in action, and while this was similar, it wasn't quite either technique. After all, henge had to have something to work with and even if she could transform a clone, that isn't what she'd done. Haku simply blinked, having been exposed to the Hyuuga girl's instant-yuurei-bunshin technique more than once now, and was able to piece together that Hinata had likely used that method of calling clones into being to do this. Sarutobi Hiruzen simply smiled, sitting back in his seat and lighting his pipe. Things had just gotten interesting, it seemed. Beside him, the Kazekage smiled faintly beneath his veil—it was not a nice smile.

Her left hand clasped the plain-looking long-bow she'd willed into being, even as she brought an arrow to life the same way and nocked it against the bow string, sighting down range towards a now entirely-too-nervous sun-haired blond. Fingers released the bow string, even as another word left her mouth. "Shunshin." Naruto was already moving as Hinata's arrow not only left the bow, but disappeared entirely. He had to clear the area before she— "Yuurei bunshin."

A staccato of metal-on-stone _clack!_s filled the air as the wall and ground opposite the Hyuuga girl turned black in a five meter radius around where the blond had last been. Even as he dropped out of shunshin and eyed her handiwork—the arrows swiftly disappearing but leaving behind obvious evidence of their presence—Hinata was nocking another arrow. This time, she didn't bother cloning it as the blond jumped—after all, that would take _far_too much chakra considering these arrows were a bit different from the last one. A tight smile crossed her face as the blond began to flicker across the field—dropping clones in his wake as he avoided her shots. Had he paid attention, he may have noticed that she never actually lead her target—meaning every shot left her bow with the intent of giving him plenty of time to clear the area before it struck where they stayed mostly-upright buried in the ground, far too low to have been actually been aimed at him. Had he not been focusing on preparing his own technique, he might have noticed he was being herded. Hinata had only a moment to wonder what the blond was up to before his clones spawned more of themselves, only for the vast majority of them to transform into more weapons—everything from kunai and oversized kama to fuuma shuriken. Her eyes widened as she found herself surrounded, even as Naruto's end-game technique unfolded around her.

"You should give up, Hinata-chan—you're surrounded!" what she suspected was the original blond called, safely outside the whirlwind of steel that now surrounded her, even as his clones slowly walked inwards, causing her safe-zone to shrink worryingly.

Sending him a small grin, she shook her head. "No, I think you should, Naruto-kun. You're out-flanked."

The blond blinked, only to watch as the dozen or so arrows she'd last fired at him shifted, reversing what was obviously his own transformation technique to reveal an equal number of clones of the dark-haired girl. He swallowed when each and every one of them duplicated Hinata's little trick with the bow. "You know," the blond grumbled, shooting an annoyed look at his grinning lover. "There's bound to be a name for this situation."

Shaking her head, Hinata willed away her bow and clones. "Ref," she called, as Naruto's technique dissipated around her.

"We forfeit," Naruto finished, drawing a confused look from the referee in question.

Senbon shifting from one corner of his mouth to the other, Genma asked, "_Both_of you?"

"It's a standoff," Hinata shrugged.

The blond nodded. "Mutually assured destruction," he grinned, remembering a phrase Hinata had once used to describe one of her many, many battles with her cousin.

Shrugging, Genma nodded. "No side!" he called as the pair made their way off the field to applause.

And in the stands, Temari twitched. _'_That _is what I've gotten myself captured by?!' _she mentally panicked. She flinched as the hand that hadn't left the top of her own warmed, a smooth thumb brushing over her knuckles.

"Pretty scary, huh?" Haku asked, a small smile playing across her lips. "And I highly doubt that was everything those two have up their sleeves. Good thing for you they both forfeited, huh?"

"Y-yeah," Temari murmured, even as her name was called and she began making her way towards the arena floor. Those had clearly been chuunin-level techniques, and the pair were just _playing_ with each other, given they knew about the coming invasion and neither had any intention of seriously hurting the other. The duo had had the same month she'd had to prepare, and while she had certainly improved her mastery over her element, she honestly didn't believe she had anything in her repertoire that could stand against either the blond or the indigo-haired girl. Oh, her brothers and sensei were so completely and utterly _fucked_ if they crossed this group—that much was certain. The only one who stood a hope in hell was Gaara, and she suspected that—having seen her brother's performance in the preliminary rounds—these three were prepared to deal with him if need be.

* * *

"Your students were quite surprising."

Anko refused to jump, even if the giant of a ninja had somehow managed to sneak up on her. Turning around, she found herself looking into the bushy eyebrows of Maito Gai. Her eyes tracked down to actually lock onto his eyes and she shrugged. "I can't claim a damn bit of that, unfortunately."

"Really?" Gai asked, disbelief clear on his face.

The special jonin nodded. "I've been busy this past month. Aside from a spar here and there to gauge their progress, all of _that _is squarely their own doing," she admitted, gesturing towards the ring for emphasis. "Honestly, I have no idea what half that shit even was, aside from a lot of shunshin and blondie's failed attempts at clones." It had taken her a minute, but finally, she processed his words fully. "And they're not my students."

"Is that so?" the big man chuckled, drawing a glare from the special jonin. "Have you seen my rival about?"

Anko shook her head. "No. You'd figure he'd want to be here for blondie's match, but..." she trailed off and shrugged.

"And that," Gai sighed, "is why you have more the bearing of a proper sensei than my old rival, with his hip attitude."

"Ah, shucks Gai, you're going to make me blush," Anko deadpanned. "It's a shame none of yours made it this far."

Gai simply smiled. "Perhaps it is for the best."

With a nod, Anko murmured, "You know, then."

Turning his gaze towards the ring, where the next combatants were already being called, the taller ninja nodded. "Word has spread quickly."

"Good. I take it that means Asuma didn't get jumped," she surmised, getting a nod in answer. Her eyes tracked over the stands, taking in likely ambush and cutoff points, and noting that nearly all of them were taken up by what were obviously foreign ninja. Thankfully, their own ninja were never far, apparently just waiting for the signal from their Hokage to attack. "Well..." she hummed, then shook her head. "I suppose I'd better go see to my brats before shit hits the fan."

Gai nodded, tossing the woman a wave even as he pretended to pay attention to the match below between a blonde Suna kunoichi and Sarutobi Asuma's Nara student. Already, he had discarded his weights and he was feeling anxious to get started—as much as he hated the idea of doing battle among so many non-combatants and genin, it couldn't be avoided, and he would rather be fighting already than waiting for the enemy leader to make his first move.

* * *

When it finally began, despite having an idea of what to expect ahead of time, Hinata was caught flat footed. The Uchiha had finally deigned to lower himself to their presence, just in time for his match. She nearly laughed aloud when, instead being met with awe at his speed, he saw nothing but boredom in the eyes of those spectators he could make out—after all, Naruto had been faster, and those who had been privileged enough to see the preliminary round knew that Lee was faster still, _without _chakra. That he knew Hatake Kakashi's signature assassination jutsu had been no real surprise, either—it just made it apparent that Hatake had taken the Uchiha as his official apprentice, seeing that he had given the boy what amounted to a family technique. It was upsetting, but not overly so—she surmised she was more upset for Naruto's sake. Oh, she knew the reasoning was that Sasuke needed such a technique given his match-up was against Gaara, whose defenses were nigh-impenetrable, except they weren't, really. Logic could argue all it liked that the man was acting out of necessity, her heart and mind argued to the contrary.

"It's starting," Temari whispered, though it was drowned out to all but Haku as Gaara began to wail as his blood poured from the puncture the Uchiha had put in his defense. "It's starting early, damnit!"

"What, no!" Kankuro protested from her side, even as sand cocooned their brother on the floor below. Above them, the Kage's box suddenly exploding followed shortly by the roof above it put lie to that protest. "Awe, damnit." He was surprised when, immediately following his sister came the Mist girl she'd come in with. Shrugging it off, he took up a defensive position between Gaara and the Uchiha and readied Karasu. He was impressed when needles of ice began to materialize around them.

"I should have known," Sasuke growled, already training his Sharingan on the only person he knew who could perform that technique.

In the stands, Hinata blanched. "Shino, Shikamaru, on us!" she ordered, even as Naruto fell in beside her and the group made their way down to the genin already surrounding the sphere of sand, her byakugan telling her that regardless of how it had come to be, the other two genin had accepted her command.

"Naruto, your ice-bitch has turned traitor!" the Uchiha warned as his reinforcements arrived. His mouth snapped shut when the wall of death surrounding the Suna trio and the traitor parted to allow the blond passage.

Kankuro twitched, turning a confused look towards what he assumed had been his own backup. "O-oi! What the hell are you doing? They're not on our side!"

"Drop it, Kankuro," Temari grumbled. "I've been turned. Help me convince Gaara not to kill us all."

"What the hell do you mean, 'turned?!'" the elder sibling shouted.

The look Temari sent her brother silenced him. "I mean, you idiot, the creepy little Hyuuga girl suckered me and drew a bomb on my chest, and if I don't do what she says then I die! Now, are you going to help me or not?"

Unsure whether to attempt to murder the indigo-haired girl in question or take several steps away from his now literally explosive sister, Kankuro asked, "What about—"

"Forget it," Hinata interrupted as, beside her, Naruto pulled out a scroll.

"Shika, get ready! Out of the way, kabuki-boy!" the blond warned, flinging the scroll at the sphere of sand as, beside him, Hinata began to seal—five points of multi-colored light coming to life at the ends of her fingers as she readied chakra strings for what would come next. As Kankuro, Temari, and Haku cleared the blast radius the exploding tag wrapped around the storage scroll went off. The odd thing about storage seals, the blond had learned, is that one of two things always happens when they're destroyed—either their contents are cut off from the rest of the universe until someone remakes the exact seals that had been securing those contents, or the contents of the seal are ejected from the destroyed seal in question. As it happened, the scrolls they had prepared well in advance just in case either of them had to face Gaara were of the second type, and when the tag destroyed the seals holding its contents in check they exploded outwards—violently—as a few thousand gallons of water suddenly materialized at speed. Needless to say, the sand surrounding the panicked redhead was swept away in a flood and left him and those closest to him sopping wet and half-drowned. When Gaara made to move his hand to wipe grit and water from his eyes, he found his hand refused to budge—as did the rest of his body, for that matter. He was just about to attempt to call up more sand when five multi-colored lights streaked in from seemingly nowhere and slammed into his stomach, and it was lights-out for Gaara. If he was upset that three other genin had completely dismantled and disabled his opponent when he had barely been able to wound him through that wall of sand, Sasuke didn't show it.

Nearby her disabled brother, Temari blinked. "Did you just kill my brother?"

"No, he's only unconscious," Hinata answered. Noticing the massive twitch from both Temari and Kankuro, she clarified. "Sealed. Shukaku won't be a problem."

"Great, now that the psychopathic murderer is taken care of, how about we get somewhere safer?" Shikamaru suggested—too late, if the buzzing of an Aburame hive in warning at his back was any indication.

"You won't be going anywhere," a voice denied, drawing the attention of the others to a veiled jonin wearing a Suna headband. "Kankuro, Temari, gather your brother and leave."

Temari sighed, palming her face. "Sorry, Baki-sensei. I'm not exactly in a position to argue."

Seeing the man's confusion, Kankuro deadpanned, "She's got a bomb on her chest. I don't know about you, but I don't particularly care to see my sister become a fine red mist any time soon."

"She knew the risks," Baki argued, moving to step forward only to pause as he took in the entirety of the force arrayed against him. Sharingan eyes spinning madly watched his every step, the Uchiha boy apparently eager to pick up on pretty much any fight, seeing as his had been interrupted. Shadows roiled at the Nara boy's feet, ready to lock him in place, even as the Aburame's hive thrummed in irritation as he prepared to take advantage of the opening the Nara would give him to drain his chakra. Around them, senbon of ice quivered in midair, seemingly eager to find a warm home in his body should he move too quickly—something he had to attribute to the Mist ninja, who was even now swapping out the Kiri headband for one bearing Konoha's leaf. Circling the Hyuuga girl, he could just make out what looked like hundreds of points of light if he looked hard enough, and her focus was on him and him alone at the moment—so, that was how she'd stymied the blond's clones. Behind them, already lifting Gaara between them, Temari and Kankuro looked ready to defy him themselves, if it came down to it. Most worryingly, however, was the familiar feeling of youki in the air—something he'd learned to discern from years spent around Gaara. A check confirmed the boy was down for the count and as the girl had admitted he was sealed, so it couldn't be coming from him... and then he saw it. Eyes, red and slitted, narrowed at him from beside the Hyuuga—it seemed Konoha had their own jinchuuriki in the unassuming blond. Jonin or not, he could admit those were bad odds.

The standoff was broken as Baki moved, not towards their group but away and to the side, even as Anko rose smoothly and silently, her kunai coming up from where it had been poised to sever his spine. "Go! Get to a shelter!" the honey-eyed special jonin ordered, and the fight was on as she blurred into range of the Suna jonin.

"He's got wind blades!" Temari warned the special jonin, as the group of Konoha genin took up a box formation around herself and her siblings and began to make for one of the exits, Hinata's byakugan providing them a clear path through the battle.

As the group cleared the stadium, Hinata frowned. "Three inbound, nine o'clock," she warned as, a moment later, a trio of older Sound ninja none of them recognized dropped onto their position from a nearby rooftop. Half a dozen responses were in motion before the trio had even gathered their footing—Shikamaru's shadow locking them in place as shuriken from Naruto and Sasuke took out the one on the left, Shino's kikaichu swarmed the one on the right, and a hail of senbon and multiple points of light converged on the one in the center... and Hinata was witness to her first sight of death. Even as the chakra began to fade from them to her byakugan, something else began seeping up from their bodies—clear and wispy, as opposed to the blue of chakra. She nearly fell to her knees as whatever it was found a ground in the chakra strings still attaching herself and the ninja in the center—flowing up the connection and striking the Hyuuga girl like a bolt.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted, steadying her even as she felt her vision going dark.

_'No,'_ she realized, _'my byakugan deactivated.'_

And yet, the clear, wispy whatever-it-was still leaked from two of the three bodies, quickly dissipating in the air. As her head cleared and she found her feet, she cast her attention inward, where something felt... off. Some ache she'd felt in her chest since first waking in the Forest of Death what seemed like years ago had eased, just a little. "We don't have time for this!" someone yelled, drawing her back to the present.

"What are we supposed to do? Join the fighting or what?" Naruto asked, as Hinata's head began to clear.

Shino's quiet voice finished cutting through the fog in the girl's mind as he game voice to his own opinion. "We have secured high-value targets and we were ordered to withdraw. The choice is clear: we withdraw. Hinata, our path?"

Shaking her head, Hinata forced herself to focus and reactivate her dojutsu as she stood straight, taking her weight off Naruto where the blond had caught her when she'd nearly collapsed. Speculation would have to wait. "That way," she pointed towards what looked to most like a random direction.

"What the hell is 'that way?'" Kankuro demanded, even as he shifted his brother to better guide Karasu alongside them.

"The Forest of Death," Shikamaru answered, nodding his approval. "It's as good a place as any, and I'd rather lead anyone following us into that death trap than straight to the shelters. Hinata, lead the way."

Thankfully, with the Hyuuga girl's direction, they were able to avoid unnecessary battles and made it through Konoha and into the training field unmolested. It was only after a good two hours of running that the group finally came to a halt in the branches of one of the training field's many overgrown trees. "Someone go up and see if they can get a look at Konoha," Shikamaru suggested. A moment later, a clone of Naruto was scrambling his way up into the top of the tree. A moment behind him, a second Hinata phased into being while what he assumed to be the original scrambled up the tree with her byakugan active.

Above them, Naruto 's attention shifted to Hinata as the girl turned her gaze on Konoha and gaped. "Hinata-chan?"

"There's so much..." the girl murmured, as the air above their home came alive with what looked like glowing mist.

Naruto frowned, turning his eyes back to the village. "What are you seeing that I'm not?"

Absently, the girl bit her lip. "I'm not sure."

Down below, Shikamaru had turned his attention to the Hyuuga girl. "Okay, before we go any further, what the hell is going on here?"

"What have you gotten us into, dobe?" Sasuke redirected the question, shooting his teammate a glare.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me, this was all Hinata-chan's doing."

Seeing she had the attention of the gathered genin, Hinata had the decency to blush. "Eh, I blame Anko." Seeing only a few of those present got the joke, she sighed. "I ambushed Temari, forced her to tell us about the invasion, and then sealed an over-complex explosive tag over her heart." Well, it was close enough to the truth—and the blonde in question seemed grateful that she hadn't just come right out and told everyone how things had really happened.

It was Shino that broke the silence, surprisingly enough. "Good work."

"Thank you, Shino-kun," the Hyuuga acknowledged.

"So, what's this mean for us?" Kankuro asked, drawing the girl's attention.

"You could defect," Shikamaru suggested, to be met with an incredulous look from the kabuki-painted boy. "In all likelihood, you'll be interrogated and then held as hostages and ransomed back to your village."

They were silent several long minutes before Naruto spoke up. "Fighting's breaking up. I hate to say it, but we'd probably be better off just staying put for the night. Shika?"

"Agreed," the Nara nodded. "Three hour shifts, two of us on watch at all times. Sasuke, you're up first—I'll share your shift. Shino, second with Haku. Hinata, third, with Naruto." He paused a moment before asking, "Naruto, how long can your clones stay awake?"

The blond shrugged. "They'll bitch about it, but I can set a perimeter all night," he confirmed the Nara's unspoken request, willing clones into being to do just that as two dozen orange-clad copies of the blond appeared in the trees around them and scattered, before shifting into furry woodland creatures.

"Useful," Shikamaru admitted. "We have any rations?" he asked, getting negatives all around. "Go hungry, then. I don't want to start a fire and give away our position to every hostile in the village." Seeing nods all around, he sighed. "Okay, everyone not on watch right now, I suggest you try to get some rest. It's going to be a long night."

* * *

"Ibiki, you're going to want to see this," a voice called from the door to the jonin's office, drawing his attention up from his initial reports gathered from intel taken from the few prisoners they had managed to capture alive.

Sighing, he dropped the report and headed around his desk. Opening the door to the hallway, he blinked. "What the hell?" he asked, taking in the sight before him. Spotting a genin he recognized, and knew wouldn't give him a headache the moment she opened her mouth as opposed to the blond, he asked, "Are those the Kazekage's brats?"

"Yep," the girl he recognized as Anko's Hyuuga protege and their little message-in-a-bottle agreed.

Ibiki chuckled. "Well, I'll be damned." Shaking his head, he waved them off. "Okay, everyone who isn't a foreign ninja gets to leave—except you," he grinned, pointing at the Hyuuga girl. Seeing the blond about to open his mouth, Ibiki spoke over him. "_Especially _you!"

"Fine," the blond huffed. "See if I get you anything nice ever again."

"Those of you looking for something to do, head to the mission hall for assignments," Ibiki ordered. "From what I hear, we've got a lot of cleanup ahead of us." At some unseen signal from the jonin, a trio of ANBU appeared and took hold of the Suna genin, before leading them off to where they would be processed. "I see they aren't bound," Ibiki criticized.

Hinata snorted. "If you think that, you don't know me very well."

"Oh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. In truth, all he truly knew of the girl was that Anko had taken a liking to her—which spoke volumes, considering the special jonin in question could count the people she liked on both hands and have fingers left over. That would have to change, if she were to be allowed to walk around free. Anko had obviously heeded his warning and the girl had no idea he was aware of her secret, which was good—he needed honest reactions, not an infiltration specialist aware of and trying to twist her way out of his mental traps.

"I'd suggest leaving that seal on Temari-chan alone, if I were you," she warned in answer, sending Ibiki's other eyebrow into what passed for his hairline. "Where's Anko-sensei?"

"Hospital—she took some nasty hits from that Suna jonin, but she said he came off the worse of the two of them," he answered quietly, leading the girl out of the hall and towards a nearby set of stairs. "Don't go rushing off for the hospital yet," Ibiki warned, seeing the girl looked ready to do just that. "Anko tells me you're pretty good at this stuff—infiltration, seduction, information gathering..."

Hinata shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far," she demurred, not wanting to draw attention to that aspect of herself while she was only a flight of stairs or two away from a comfortable room under T&I. Snorting, Ibiki lead her past a security checkpoint and to another hallway—this one lined on both sides by one-way mirrors. He stopped before one, drawing the girl's attention to the prisoner therein. Blinking, Hinata murmured, "That was fast."

"Yeah, well, we're kind of scrambling to figure out what the hell just happened," Ibiki admitted as, on the other side of the glass, Temari paced a bare concrete cell naked save for Hinata's seal still decorating her chest. Even her hair ties had been removed, leaving her blonde hair to fall straight as opposed to up in its usual four-tailed configuration. "So, why don't you start?"

Recognizing the order for a debriefing for what it was, Hinata nodded. "Naruto, Haku, and I ambushed Temari—" she was cut off by a snort from the jonin beside her and rolled her eyes. "We and a group of our classmates spent most of the day yesterday—day before yesterday, sorry—seeing the sights at the festival. We met up with the Suna team you have in custody, minus Gaara, and spent the day with them. At the end of the day, we went to Anko-sensei's favorite bar for a few drinks. I seduced the blonde and we went home. Yesterday morning, Temari said something that seemed amiss and Haku and I captured her and forced the details of the invasion out of her, and I then proceeded to seal her. I passed a warning on to Anko, then we went about the exam in an attempt to throw off suspicion. Eventually, we disabled Gaara—who was their trump card and on whom the success of the entire invasion hinged—and convinced the Sand team it would be in their best interests to follow us. Their sensei interrupted, Anko intervened and ordered us to hide, so we ran for the Forest of Death—safest place I could think of at the time, given the high-value targets we had in custody. On the way, we eliminated three Sound ninja of indeterminate rank, though they couldn't have been more than chuunin or they never would have made the mistake of attempting to ambush not only a Hyuuga but an Uchiha, an Aburame, and a Nara from anything but extreme range." Even if she disliked him, she could at least admit Sasuke had his uses. "Once we had a secure location, we set watches and spent the night in training field forty-four. Shortly before day broke, we came back into Konoha, and here we are."

Ibiki took a few minutes to digest that before nodding, slowly. "Hokage-sama is dead—we think Orochimaru did it," he finally admitted. "As you can imagine, we need to find out how he infiltrated the village, and these three may well know." He idly wondered if she would, as Anko put it, 'reset herself' on the spot and see to warning them in advance. When she did not, he notched his respect for her up a hair—she had patience and was willing to see through the bad times for anything useful before making a move.

Biting her lip, Hinata asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

Rolling his eyes, Ibiki grunted, "I thought that'd be obvious. Guess you aren't as bright as she says," he murmured. On the girl's irritated look, he shrugged. "Everything Anko's said tells me you belong here—and you might as well start sooner, rather than later. And since you've got the most experience with these three currently..." Well, that, and the closer she was the easier it would be for him to keep an eye on her. If not imprisoned, then under careful watch.

"Mm," the girl hummed, eyes tracking Temari as she paced. "Gaara wouldn't know anything—he's their attack dog. Oh, and do us all a favor and put a permanent seal on him, before he regains control of his sand—I don't really know how much longer the five-point elemental seal I slapped on him will hold." On a nod from Ibiki, a nearby ANBU she hadn't noticed left the hallway, presumably to do just that. "Temari may know, but... well, I promised she would be treated well, so be gentle. Kankuro's going to be your best bet."

Ibiki nodded. "Alright, we'll do it your way. Make a clone and see to your pet Suna-nin and check up on Anko for me. Get her some clothes and take her to one of the more comfortable rooms downstairs. I'll give kabuki-boy a bit longer to stew before I start asking questions."

"Just... try not to break him," Hinata asked, getting a raised eyebrow from Ibiki. "He came fairly willingly, and we've already got his brother and sister as leverage..."

Snorting, the jonin waved her off. "I think I know how to do my job, brat, but thanks for the suggestion. Now, get."

Some minutes later, Temari froze as the door to her cell opened and a familiar face strode in. "I brought you some clothes," Hinata explained, offering the girl a set of paper scrubs—it wasn't her own clothes, nor could they truly be called 'clothing' given the fact that they were just a step up from a hospital gown, but it was the best she could do given the conditions.

Nodding, Temari was silent as she accepted the clothing and began to dress herself. "How long will I have to stay here?" she asked, finally—there was no real heat in her voice, only acceptance of the fact that she would likely be staying longer than she liked.

"If you cooperate, possibly a month," Hinata shrugged. "That was how long it took to clear Haku-chan and Zabuza-san. Given the fact that our Hokage is dead, however, perhaps longer."

Temari blanched—that was not good news for her, or her brothers. "How...?"

"Orochimaru," Hinata answered simply. "Come on, let's get you somewhere nicer," she murmured, waving the blonde to follow. "And just for the record, there are two ANBU stationed at either end of the hall and if I pop, they're going to lock the doors and watch the timer run down on that seal."

"Nice to know," Temari groaned, following the Hyuuga girl down a flight of stairs and into another corridor, this one lined with metal doors, each with a window and a slot for a food tray. The smaller girl opened a door near the middle of the hall and waved her inside, following the blonde in after as she closed the door behind them. Temari noticed there was no handle on this side of the door. "Home, sweet cell."

"Lie down," the Hyuuga girl directed, getting a raised eye from the blonde, who shrugged before doing just that on the small cot provided. A moment later, Hinata had straddled her waist and pulled the thin shirt open, revealing her seal-work. Fingers pressed four separate points on the blonde's chest before she felt chakra being applied and the strange sensation of an active seal unfolding across her skin. "I'm removing the timer and proximity sensor," Hinata explained as she worked.

"Not the whole thing?" Temari asked, getting a shake of the head from the girl above her.

"Sorry, no," Hinata admitted. "For the time being, we still need leverage over your brothers—Kankuro in particular—and knowing you have an active seal waiting to go off if he doesn't tell us what we need to know is it. Once Ibiki has what he needs, then I'll remove it."

"In other words, convince my idiot brother to play nice or we're both dead," Temari deadpanned, drawing a shrug from the girl above her.

"Pretty much," she agreed. "I can only control what happens after you're released—this is Ibiki's domain, where he is lord and master. I have no say here."

* * *

Hinata's eye twitched as she regarded the frazzled nurse across the counter from her. "Let's try this again... Mitarashi Anko. Admitted yesterday. _Fucking _where?"

Across from the indigo-haired girl, the nurse shrank into herself at the level of psychic malice she found leveled on her. "I'm sorry, Hyuuga-san, but I really don't know. Look! The records say she was admitted, treated, and discharged. She could be anywhere!"

Sighing, Hinata nodded and turned away from the nurse. Apparently, Anko wasn't as bad off as Ibiki thought, if she'd been released. _'Then again, it never hurts to check... and he did technically order me to,'_ the girl mused. Her mind made up, she made her way out of the hospital and followed a path she'd only taken a few times before to the special jonin's apartment. Once in the building, a quick sweep with her dojutsu lead her to the proper door and the Hyuuga girl knocked. When there was no reply, she frowned and reactivated her dojutsu to see that Anko had not moved from her bed. Narrowing her eyes, she knocked harder and watched for any sign of response from the special jonin. _'Something looks off,' _she thought, sharpening her focus on the woman until she could clearly make out her wounds. Twitching, she willed a clone into being on the other side of the door and let herself in.

"What the fuck?" Anko slurred as her bedroom lights came on far too bright and her covers were forcibly removed.

"Lay there and be still," a voice demanded as weight settled on her bed and deft hands began undoing the special jonin's bandages.

Finally able to focus enough through the searing pain in her eyes to make out pale skin and a dark head of hair, Anko grinned. "Making house calls now, Hina-chan?"

"Ibiki was worried," she murmured, tossing the bandages away and beginning to run a sweep with diagnostic jutsu to confirm what her eyes were telling her. "When I find whoever let you out of that hospital..."

"Awe, that's sweet," the special jonin chuckled, then winced as the girl went to work on the now-open wounds criss-crossing her front from neck to thighs. "They said I'd heal fine in a month or two once they closed them, you know. There're other people you could be looking at. This's all superficial. I'm not bleeding out, it's not infected, I'll live."

"Shut up and sit still. You don't get to blow it all off like it's nothing when it looks like someone cut your breasts in half," the younger girl denied, then frowned. "Minus the 'looks like.' What the hell happened?"

The special jonin shrugged, then winced at the effort. "What can I say? The fight got dirty. Besides, he only tried to cut my tits off _after _I set his crotch on fire. Yep, ol' Baki's going to be a crispy critter for a while." Honestly, considering what she'd done to him, she'd gotten off light-he hadn't destroyed her ability to reproduce, after all.

"Don't make me laugh, I don't want to accidentally join your spleen to your liver," Hinata warned, though the worry had left her tone. That she was working nowhere near spleen or liver at the moment mattered little, the warning still stood—do not distract a medic at work. "Who was it who looked you over at the hospital?" she asked, entirely too casually considering Anko could feel the tension still radiating off the girl even if her face had smoothed into a neutral mask.

"Dunno," the woman slurred, drawing an irritated narrowing of the eyes from her protege. "They patched me up, gave me some good drugs, and sent me home. Like I said, should be fine in a month."

Hinata shook her head. "I will find the records and they will be out of a job by the end of the week. If not fired, then stuffed into a ditch somewhere." Sighing quietly, she focused on the most grievous of the wounds on her informal sensei—the cut that had bisected the woman's breasts horizontally and had apparently been only shoddily treated. As medical chakra swept into the wound, Hinata frowned when something caught her eye before switching to a diagnostic jutsu. Because of the way the byakugan saw chakra, certain things looked different as that energy passed through them—specifically, denser materials showed up as darker spots in her vision and took more chakra to clear through, and occasionally glowed different colors based on their properties. What she saw at the moment was tiny, and glowed sickly purple against the blue-white of relatively healthy tissue. "So, how do you feel about breast cancer?"

Anko blinked. "What?"

"Was the person who treated you a ninja?" Hinata asked, getting a slow nod. "Ditch it is, then."

"Why? What was that about cancer?"

"It's easy to produce and not easily spotted, unless you're either looking for it or pretty good—or whoever did it was sloppy. My guess is the third option," she shrugged. "Luckily, I also happen to be pretty good at what I do."

Nodding slowly, the special jonin asked, "So uh, you can fix it?"

The younger girl nodded. "Already done." Taking in her handiwork, having properly cleaned and closed the wound and leaving behind little more than a bit of bruising—which is what should have been done to begin with—the Hyuuga girl took a break long enough to will a clone into being with the thought of heading back to the hospital in the forefront of her mind. In all the confusion, it may just be possible to make her inquiries and disappear one soon-to-be-former medic-nin into a shallow grave without anyone taking notice. That out of the way, she set about mending the rest of the mess that was made of her sensei.

"Ah," Anko murmured, some time later as Hinata sat finishing up her work. When the younger girl hummed in question, she hesitantly asked, "What do I owe you for this?"

Hinata blinked. "'Owe?' Why would you owe me anything?"

Shaking her head, the special jonin smiled and closed her eyes, shifting slightly and allowing herself to sink a little deeper into her mattress. It seemed she had chosen right after all. "Never mind."

* * *

"Urumeshi Kazeya."

Kazeya blinked, eyes flicking towards the corner of his living room where an unfamiliar form stood—and had apparently been waiting in his darkened apartment until he had returned home. "Who...?" he began to ask, only to frown as recognition set in. Pale skin, dark hair, byakugan eyes—obviously a Hyuuga, but more importantly, one he had seen in passing in the recent past, namely frequenting the hospital. "Hyuuga-san, how can I help you?"

"Have a seat," the girl smiled. Something in that smile told the medic that it wasn't a request, and so he sat. "'Urumeshi Kazeya, twenty-nine years of age, former husband to Urumeshi Yui, father to Urumeshi Kanoka, was found in the early morning hours deceased in his garden-district home. Cause of death appears to be ritual suicide.' That is what tomorrow's obituary will read."

"What the hell are you on about?" he asked, eyes narrowing in anger and moving to stand, only for a hand to meet his shoulder and force him back down into his seat. Cold, sharp steel found the back of his neck—the point just above the brain stem—and settled there ominously.

"Please don't do that again," Hinata's voice warned quietly, from behind him. Seeing she again had his full attention and he wouldn't be going anywhere, the Hinata in front of him smiled—wide and entirely too friendly. Shifting, she pushed herself out of the corner she'd occupied for the better part of two hours and made her way over to his work desk, where a solitary framed photograph stood. Picking it up, she studied it intently, memorizing the faces therein before turning her gaze back to the medic slowly turning red as he realized the implied threat for what it was. "I am not an unkind person, Urumeshi-_sensei_. Nor am I unreasonable. I will give you one chance and one chance only to spare your former wife and daughter the misfortune you weren't willing to spare me."

Sighing, the soon-to-be-deceased medic-nin nodded slowly before closing his eyes in thought. "How?"

"You got careless," Hinata shrugged. "You made the mistake of thinking no one would find you because no one would care to look."

"Why all the theatrics, then? Why not just kill me?" he asked, opening his eyes to study her face.

The smile she sent him was smaller, more genuine as she answered. "Because I wanted you to know why you were going to have to die, and I did not want to bring your former wife and daughter any more grief than necessary by turning a simple suicide into a murder or bringing to light your violations of your oaths and the shame that would bring to your family."

"The police and ANBU will never believe—" he began, only to pause as the phone on his desk rang.

Turning away from the medic-nin, Hinata picked the phone up from its cradle. "Urumeshi residence," she murmured, nodding twice at whatever was said from the other side before turning her attention back to Kazeya. "It's for you," she said, holding the phone out and gesturing him to take it.

Feeling the grip on his shoulder release and the blade pull away from his neck, Kazeya stood and closed the short distance between himself and the girl with the phone before taking the device and bringing it to his ear. "This is Urumeshi."

"Hi papa!" a cheerful voice called down the line and Kazeya felt his blood run cold as his eyes caught sight of the slowly widening grin on the girl's face.

"K-kanoka-chan," he began, his throat suddenly tight. "Where are you?"

He could almost hear the smile over the line as the girl answered. "I'm at home, papa. A nurse from the hospital came by and said I should call and check up on you. Is everything okay?"

Kazeya paled further, slowly nodding even though he knew she wouldn't see it. "Everything's fine, sweetie. You know how work gets—long hours. Is that nurse still there?" he asked, already knowing the answer but hoping...

"Yep!" Kanoka chirped. "Want to talk to her?"

"Put her on," he agreed, and a moment later heard the sounds of the phone being passed off to another.

"Urumeshi," a now all-too-familiar voice murmured down the line, and he knew her smile was mirrored by the girl standing before him, and the one currently cutting off his escape. "I just stopped by to check on Kanoka-chan," the girl continued. "After all, Yui-san won't be home for another hour and a half and it wouldn't do to leave a girl so young alone, given the recent invasion. You can thank me for volunteering to babysit later."

"I... I see," he murmured, defeat now apparent in his tone. "Could you put Kanoka back on?" A moment later, his daughter's voice greeted him again and he smiled, knowing it would be the last time he heard her voice. They made small talk for ten minutes, Kazeya simply taking as much enjoyment from the light conversation as he could before movement caught his eye. Catching sight of Hinata slowly tapping her watch, he nodded and wished his daughter a good night before handing the phone back to his executioner. "Thank you for that."

"As I said, I am not a cruel person," Hinata shook her head. "I understand the value of family—it's why I'm doing this, after all. You tried to kill mine." Another glance at her watch and Hinata turned her gaze pointedly towards a side of the living room Urumeshi had been studiously ignoring the entire time—hoping that by doing so, she would ignore the presence of the pair of family blades mounted on a stand and he could potentially slip around the girl and arm himself. Now though, he knew what she wanted and sighed as he made his way towards them. Hinata watched him take up the shorter of the two blades before pausing, his hand over the larger.

"Will you...?"

"I can not," she denied. Being the man's second would lead to far too many questions she wouldn't want to answer, and she now knew from experience that Ibiki could see right through her attempts to lie to the man.

Kazeya nodded, striding to the center of the room and opening his shirt, before taking a kneeling position. "I suppose I don't deserve that kindness," he admitted, getting a nod in answer. "My daughter—"

"Will be fine. I promise."

"Thank you," Urumeshi murmured. Taking only a moment to study the blade he'd drawn, he sighed in resignation before pulling it home in his chest with a pained gasp.

Hinata watched as the man set about completing what he'd started before eventually falling over sideways in unconsciousness. A moment later, she was again witness to something wispy rising off a body, not unlike steam. It drifted up, off the man's corpse before slowly wafting towards her position. A moment later, she again felt the odd void she'd become aware of the previous day fill just a little. She had always wondered if her ability to fall through time had a price she wasn't aware of—now, she felt sure it did, even if she wasn't entirely sure what that cost was. She spared the man one last glance as her other selves disappeared, willed out of existence the same way they had come into being. "If you had just put aside your hate, you and I would never have crossed paths."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** There you have the exam, and its conclusion. The exam itself along with the war has been done to death, so I thought it best to skip it and focus on everyone else around it—and, of course, provide a situation that would show just how far Hinata would be willing to go against someone who had harmed the ones she loved, along with a bit of foreshadowing about just what it is that fuels her power. No, she doesn't eat souls if that's what you're wondering.

Bear in mind that ninja are, by nature, trained killers. Permanently eliminating a threat, especially one that has identified itself as being openly hostile with intent to harm, is not only not out of the question, but pretty much standard-operating-procedure. Putting someone into a situation in order to force them into committing suicide in order to spare the lives of their family is a more... personal touch.

Also, a named technique.


	6. 0500

**The Life and Times**

* * *

_"There is a fine line between use and abuse of power. I fear, in my zeal, I may have crossed that line more than once. Does it really matter, if only I am aware it ever happened? I must have asked myself this a thousand, thousand times, and I still don't have an answer. That, like so many questions I've found myself asking over the years, seems always just beyond my grasp. I suppose if I could still look in the mirror and see myself and not some unrecognizable monster standing in my place, then I was not quite so far gone—or so I would hope."_

* * *

As she stood under her black umbrella beside Naruto, Hinata had to wonder if someone on the council had demanded there be rain for the funeral, or if the old Hokage was simply that lucky. Rain was easy enough to create, and a state event such as the funeral of a Hokage certainly warranted the extra theatrics to add to the somber mood, but the fact that today would be the third day straight of non-stop rain would seem to belie that suspicion. She had to admit though, as much as she disliked him for his involvement in what had been her own personal hell at one point and for his poor handling of Naruto's situation, he deserved better than what he was being given. The funeral should have been a private event, or at the very least someone should have barred the council members from speaking—judging by the look on Sarutobi Asuma's face, they would soon be forcibly evicted if the political grandstanding did not stop. It was shameful, really—and the Daimyo being in attendance seemed to only encourage them.

A shuddering breath drew her attention away from the wrinkled visage of yet another civilian council member and to her blond lover at her side. Amazingly, the boy was for once not orange-clad—even Naruto wouldn't bring himself to disrespect the old Hokage like that, and had asked Hinata to get him something suitable to wear seeing as even with current events, the shops where one could buy respectable clothing suitable to a funeral wouldn't sell to him. Black slacks, polished leather shoes, and a dark gray, long-sleeved button-down had replaced the boy's usual ensemble—the only nod to which was the small orange flame dancing up the very tip of the boy's thin black tie. She pulled her attention back up to study his tear-streaked face and felt her heart ache at the sight. Sighing, she took his hand and shifted her gaze to regard Haku on his other side, clad in a black kimono and studiously ignoring the blond's tears, though she noticed the taller girl had also claimed a hand.

The ceremony came to a close and those present began to make their last goodbyes before the casket was to be lowered. Naruto reclaimed his hands long enough to wipe his eyes. Taking one last look at the casket and the photograph of the man who had been like a grandfather to him, the boy sighed before turning away from the procession and making his way out of the cemetery, Haku at his side—there were simply too many civilians in attendance and he didn't want to cause a scene. Later, he would come and pay his respects privately. Hinata stayed behind, catching the eyes of each of their year-mates—the Rookie Nine, they were being called—before motioning towards the street. The others joined her shortly, no one bothering to ask where they were going as she lead them across town—by the streets for once, as heels made for poor roof-hopping footwear and most of their clothes were poorly suited to freedom of movement.

From the roof of what Shikamaru assumed was Naruto's apartment building, it was easy to see why they had been gathered here—the damage to Konoha was plainly visible all around them, no longer hidden by streets and buildings, and a stark reminder of what they had lost and the current stakes. It seemed childhood had come to an end early for them all, with the opening blow of one war already kicking in their door and rumors running rife of the other villages seeking to take advantage of Konoha's vulnerable state. As the small Hyuuga girl took her place to the blond's left, the Nara took in those gathered—four teams of Konoha genin were represented in total, all of them semi-finalists of the exam. To either side of him stood Chouji and Ino, the Akimichi for once without his seemingly ever-present snacks and Ino with red eyes that Shikamaru studiously ignored. To Team Ten's collective left stood both Kiba and Shino of Team Eight, along with Kiba's familiar Akamaru—the Inuzuka for once matching his teammate in stoic silence, if only for the moment. To their right, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke of Team Seven stood, one shooting furtive, concerned glances at Ino and the other without his typical surly or disinterested look. While neither Lee nor Neji were present, the Nara had to assume their teammate Tenten would fill them in later.

His attention shifted from the bulk of their group to the girl that had brought them here—clad in a black knee-length skirt, heels, matching long-sleeved blouse and a white obi, Hinata attempted to hide her worry as she eyed the blond at her side. To Naruto's other side stood the new addition to the village that apparently rounded out what Shikamaru was smart enough to see as an unofficial team of their own. Catching Hinata's eyes, he nearly sighed as she nodded—apparently deferring to him for the moment. It was somewhat surprising, considering her show of leadership skill during the attack and the fact that she was the only one of them aside from himself promoted to chuunin, but not entirely unexpected—then again, the girl had changed so much from what everyone knew of her that he didn't truly know what to expect any more. He had initially suspected the original Hinata had been abducted shortly before the exam and replaced with a chuunin or jonin of another village, meant to spy on them before the war kicked off—only Naruto actively dating the girl had laid that suspicion to rest, considering the blond's ability to judge the character of those around him was second to none, oddly enough. It was telling, then, that the blond hadn't seemed to like _any _of their academy teachers, aside from Iruka...

"Right," Shikamaru sighed, turning his eyes away from the anomaly that was Hinata and the blond beside her to regard those gathered. Before he could begin, however, he was cut off by Kiba.

"Why the hell are we here and not out _doing _something?"

Resisting the urge to swat the other genin, as it would simply take too much effort, Shikamaru answered instead. "We know who was behind the attack on Hokage-sama." Seeing he had their interest, he reached into his jacket and produced a set of five photographs—passed to him by Hinata the afternoon before, who Shikamaru assumed had most likely gotten them either from Anko or Ibiki—and passed them to Chouji, who studied them for a moment before passing them on to Ino and on down the line. "The one you have to worry about there is Orochimaru—he's a Sannin, so the smartest thing to do if you see him in the future will be to run and then report back to Konoha if you manage to survive the encounter. The others, we don't actually have names for, but we do know they're all ninja of Sound. They're the ones who held up that wall-type jutsu that kept our forces out of that fight—a red-haired girl, a creepy-looking black-haired guy, and a set of silver-haired twins. For the foreseeable future, there will be a pretty decent bounty on all of them, so if you see one while we're out on a mission keep that in mind. Don't do anything stupid, but don't pass up the opportunity to take one of them out if you think you can. At this point, the village could use the morale boost."

"Teams of three or more only," Hinata clarified softly, drawing their attention. Realizing they wanted more details, she passed on what Ibiki had brought her into recently. "Apparently, Team Ten's sensei managed to take out one of their number before everything kicked off and T&I, along with some of the medical and science corps, have been studying the body. He was marked with the same seal Orochimaru gave to Sasuke. We've only ever had one sample to study before, and thankfully no consensus could be reached about whether or not to do anything too invasive to study it. Now that we have a recent sample, we're starting to get an idea of what it does—though I bet Sasuke could probably shed a bit of light on things."

As the attention shifted to himself, Sasuke nearly cursed the girl. Instead, he simply rolled his eyes. "There isn't much to explain."

"Try," Shikamaru deadpanned.

"Before it was sealed off, it was... like it was providing chakra," he shrugged. He did _not_ want to get into what it had felt like, that first time the seal came blazing to life in the Forest of Death, sending raw power burning through his veins. It was euphoric, the most alive he'd ever felt, he could have accomplished anything, and for a brief moment he had felt like a _god _and even Itachi would have to bow to his power. Instead, he decided to provide something that may actually prove useful—if his experience was anything to go by. "After it shut down, it left me weak for days."

Humming, the Nara boy nodded. "Most of us here saw what happened when that seal activated," he lead. "If these people all have it, there could be some real danger in trying to take them down even one at a time. Hinata's right—don't try unless you're with a full team, and only if they're alone. Even if Sasuke is off on the recovery time, because his seal is new, then it's still a potentially exploitable weakness. If they activate the seal, try to wear them down fast and when—or if—it finally fails, make your move."

"Capture is preferable, but don't risk it," the Hyuuga girl added, drawing nods. "I can say that T&I would be very grateful if you did manage to capture one or more of them, to the tune of recommendation for promotion." Ibiki had made it pretty clear he wanted both someone to interrogate and live test subjects.

"Settle down," the Nara boy grumbled, quieting the sudden murmurs that had sprung up amongst the others at that announcement. "It won't matter too much for the next month or so, since all extra-village missions for those below jonin rank have been suspended. Ninja ranked chuunin and lower are to report to the mission office and take whatever mission they assign you, by teams. Since our senseis won't be there to hold our hands, we're going to have to do this on our own. For the moment, I'll assign temporary squad leaders—your job will be to act in place of your jonin-sensei in taking missions and distribution of labor, and then turning in and reporting on those missions if the mission calls for a report. These selections are non-negotiable and will not change until you are notified otherwise by your sensei. As we were the only two promoted, Hinata and myself will lead teams Eight and Ten in addition to being in charge of this group as a whole until we're relieved or ordered otherwise."

Hinata raised her hand, drawing the Nara's attention. "Just you, Shika," she murmured. Seeing the boy's questioning look, she shrugged. "I've been reassigned."

"Reassigned?" the Nara asked, finding himself echoed by multiple voices.

The girl nodded. "Apparently, medics willing to work inside T&I as opposed to simply rotating through on loan are something of a rarity—to the tune of one."

"You."

"Me," Hinata confirmed. "Ibiki wants me there unless he tells me otherwise—which means I won't be available for field work for a while. As far as being part of the division of responsibilities, I should be able handle it. I'll probably be splitting my attention between the hospital and T&I. With the recent influx of patients, I'll probably be in one of the busier wards. Yesterday was trauma ward, ground floor, just off the front of the building—that isn't likely to change for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, access to the offices of T&I is in lock-down—restricted to authorized personnel only at the moment, so you won't be able to reach me there."

"Wait, if her orders are coming from the head of Torture and Interrogation, where are you getting yours?" Tenten asked, drawing the pair's attention.

In answer, Shikamaru simply shrugged. "Asuma-sensei told me to handle it. If you need to confirm with Gai—"

"No," Tenten shook her head. "But I am down two teammates at the moment and I hate to say it, but a single genin will be pretty useless alone. Should I fill in for Hinata, on Team Eight?"

"Yeah," the Nara confirmed. "You'll be in charge of them, for the time being. Sasuke, you've got Team Seven."

"Eh, no," Naruto cut in, drawing their attention to the blond who had been silent since showing up for the service that morning. "It's just going to be you and Sakura, teme. Ero-Sannin came by my place yesterday and told me we've got a mission."

"What kind of mission?" Sakura asked, wondering who in their right mind would take the blond without the rest of Team Seven along to make sure he didn't screw up too badly. Yes, she could admit that since the start of the exam, Naruto had improved by leaps and bounds compared to his academy days—but she had had little personal exposure to him since the end of the second exam, and so had no idea if he was still just as annoying and hot-headed as before. "And who is 'Ero-Sannin?'"

"Why are we just now hearing this, dobe?"

Shrugging, the blond grinned. "He told me to keep it quiet. All I'm supposed to say is we're leaving and could be gone up to a month."

Studying the whisker-marked boy for a moment, Shikamaru nodded. "I see."

"Shika?" Ino prompted.

"He's going to look for a new Hokage," the Nara surmised, drawing a nod from Naruto.

Glancing back and forth between the blond and the pineapple-haired Nara, Kiba frowned. "Wait, you mean the next Hokage isn't coming from Konoha? Then who—?"

"Tsunade," Shino guessed beside the Inuzuka, drawing nods from Shikamaru and Hinata.

Tenten's eyes went wide for a moment before she crushed the sudden, fangirlish impulse to squee. "As in Tsunade-hime, of the Sannin?"

"That'd be me guess," Shikamaru allowed.

"_So cool_," the girl murmured, then blushed when she realize she'd said that aloud. "Ahem. I mean, uh... She's a good choice."

"I don't know about that," Naruto denied, flinching when the bun-haired girl turned sudden ire on him. "It's just, the way Ero-Sannin talks about her, she's nothing but a lush with a gambling problem—"

"Okay, wait. Who is this 'Ero-Sannin?'" Sakura asked again, drawing an eye-roll from Naruto.

"Jiraiya. As in, 'of the Sannin.' The man who inflicted the Icha Icha upon the world and a self-proclaimed 'super pervert,'" Hinata clarified, having to suppress the urge to smirk as Sakura's eyes tracked between her and the blond at her side. Just to rub salt in the wound, she added, "Apparently, the old pervert decided to take on Naruto-kun as an apprentice."

Sakura blinked. "Wait. Naruto? Apprentice to _a Sannin_?" Her question was echoed across the faces of more than one genin present.

"Eh, he's not that great," Naruto denied.

"Not that—" Tenten began, only to cut herself off and palm her face. "Do you have any _idea_ what I would give to become Tsunade's apprentice? Even Jiraiya's?" Removing her hand, the bun-haired girl leveled a glare on the blond. "For the love of all that is holy, do _not_waste this opportunity."

Once everyone settled down, Shikamaru sighed before continuing. "Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way... Sakura, Sasuke, I suppose we can work out some kind of rotation between the other teams. Does that work for you?" On the girl's nod and the Uchiha's 'hn,' the Nara nodded. "That's everything I had. Anything to add?" he asked of Hinata, drawing a nod from the girl.

"Two things," she began, looking over the gathered genin and single chuunin. "I know we've all had our differences in the past but that has to change, here and now. There can be no more arguments, no more petty squabbles, no more working against your own teammates or those of other teams." Her gaze lingered on Sasuke and Sakura before passing over the rest of them to come to rest on Kiba for a moment. "We don't have the luxury for it any more. From now on, between the hours of oh six hundred and eighteen hundred, if you're not on a mission you'd better be on a training field. Shika, please work out a schedule to rotate us all through individually and in groups, so we can all familiarize ourselves with each other and how we each fight. The plan is that we become one cohesive unit capable of working in any combination and any numbers."

"Who gave you the authority to decide this?" Sasuke asked, not entirely against the notion, but not caring for its phrasing as an order.

"Actually, as your immediate superiors, we both have the authority to do it," Shikamaru pointed out quietly.

Hinata smiled, and was pleased when more than one of her soon-to-be squad-mates flinched. "But if that doesn't convince you, please, feel free to argue the point with Anko. As she put it, it's an order. If you fail to comply, there won't be some slap on the wrist as a punishment—you'll be sent to the stockade until you change your mind."

Seeing no one looked ready to take it that far, Shikamaru nodded. "I can have something in a couple of days, but I'll need a schedule to work you in if you're going to be splitting your attention and I'll have to adjust for Naruto's absence."

"That's fine, I'll get you a copy later today," Hinata nodded. "Point two: Sasuke, Ibiki wants you to report to T&I tomorrow morning by oh eight hundred sharp to run a comparative analysis between your seal, the one on our dead Sound ninja, and the other one. With any luck, all we'll be doing is unfolding it for a few photographs then folding it back up again." Seeing the boy nod grudgingly, Hinata turned her attention back to Shikamaru. "That's it for me."

"Everyone report to the mission office by six tomorrow. Each group is supposed to take a minimum of two jobs per day, unless we draw something that takes longer, so as much as I hate the idea we'll need an early start—these are not water-the-lawn D-ranked missions we'll be taking. When you're done, leave a note on one of the boards and book one of the training fields—whoever finishes first gets first pick, everyone else shows up there as they finish. Dismissed," Shikamaru ordered, sighing and rubbing at the headache beginning to form behind his eyes. It had only been two days since his promotion—they hadn't had time for a proper ceremony, even—and already he was feeling stressed at the thought of being responsible for his teammates and the other teams in their combined squad. With Hinata semi-permanently assigned to Torture and Interrogation by the head of that department, it was unlikely she would be around much to help on the administrative side, which meant he was pretty much on his own. 'Troublesome' didn't even come close to describing the situation, in his mind.

* * *

Studying the ceiling from her position flopped back on her massive bed, crammed into Naruto's tiny bedroom, Hinata yawned. Turning her eyes on Naruto for a moment, she saw he seemed to be distracted—likely thinking about the funeral and the loss of someone he considered family. Deciding a distraction was in order, she smiled softly and caught his attention. "You need better ninja clothes," she mused to the blond, who was currently stripping out of his damp funeral wear and trading it in for orange.

"What's wrong with orange?" the boy asked, rolling his eyes as he caught sight of Haku and drawing a quiet giggle from the girl. He was well aware of what his first lover was attempting to do, but he wasn't so far gone that he didn't appreciate the attempt or wouldn't play along.

"It's visible from two kilometers out and will make you memorable in every village you pass through," Hinata pointed out.

"Exactly," the blond grinned.

Shaking her head, Haku began the process of changing into something more appropriate herself. "I believe the point she was trying to make is that most ninja seek not to be remembered everywhere they go, Naruto-kun."

Pulling on a shirt, the boy pointed out, "I'm not most ninja."

"While you are gone, I will replace every bit of orange you own with black. And gray," Hinata threatened, causing the boy's eyes to go wide as he defensively clutched his orange jacket to his chest.

"You wouldn't!"

"And while I'm at it," the girl continued, smiling at the panic in his voice, "I think I'll replace the instant ramen with something more edible."

"Nooo!" the boy wailed. Seeing no other alternative, he leapt into battle in defense of his precious orange and ramen, launching himself onto the bed and attempting to strangle the girl thereon with his jacket.

Haku's show, and subsequently her laughter, was cut off by the sight of a head of white hair popping up in the blond's window and climbing over the railing onto the balcony—which also caused the sometimes cross-dresser to scramble to grab something to cover her uncovered chest. "Oi, brat. You ready to..." the Sannin began, only to take in those gathered and pause, before a leer spread over his face. "Never mind. By all means, please continue. Ignore the author in the corner," he suggested, quickly pulling a notebook and pen from his vest and beginning to take notes.

"Get lost, you pervert!" Naruto yelled, tossing the jacket he'd been attempting to strangle the dark-haired girl with a moment ago at the Sannin, who caught it without bothering to look. "I'll meet you at the north gate in ten minutes."

"Pfft. Fine, brat. Don't be late," the Sannin warned, dropping from the balcony and presumably heading for the gate.

Sighing, Naruto let his head droop until his forehead came to rest against the chest of the girl beneath him. "Remind me again why I have to go with the old pervert?"

Hinata smiled, fingers finding and running through the blond's hair. "Training, mostly. However, I'd be willing to bet money that he expects Tsunade to give him problems with coming back—and he's hoping you can convince her."

"You haven't...?" the boy asked, getting a shake of the head. "Then how am I supposed to do that?"

It was Haku who answered, drawing the boy's eyes to her smiling face as she dropped down next to the pair. "Be yourself. That should be enough." She shrugged as her eyes dropped momentarily to the girl under the blond. "It was enough for me."

Nodding, the boy grinned before rolling off to the side and regarding his ceiling. "So, you're not going to let Hinata-chan replace my clothes and throw out my ramen while I'm gone, right Haku-chan?"

"Perhaps," the girl allowed.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" the boy grumbled, shooting a mock glare at the girl.

Haku smiled. "As you know, she can be very persuasive."

The boy rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the bed, casting his eyes about for his pack—having been readied the previous night. He found it, sticking out from under the edge of the bed. "Well, maybe some new clothes won't be all bad—so long as it's not all black and gray, and you leave my orange _alone_." Turning to more serious conversation, he asked, "What are you going to be doing while I'm gone?"

Hinata hummed, shooting a glance at Haku before smiling. "I think I'll convince Ibiki I could use an assistant and get Haku a more permanant post with me in T&I. Aside from that, I'll have my hands full between medical study, picking apart that seal, and helping Shika bring everyone up to par. Maybe, if I'm lucky, Lee will recover faster than our predictions and he can at least take over part of it."

"Work fast," the blond urged, drawing the girls' attention. "The way the snake-freak was going on before he gave the teme that evil hickey, it sounded like he wanted Sasuke for something—not really sure what or why, but I think the whole thing was just a test to him and I guess Sasuke passed."

"Recruiting, perhaps?" Haku suggested, drawing a slow nod from Hinata.

"We know from Anko there's a mental component to the seal, something that increases aggression and the liklihood of actually using the thing. It would stand to reason that Orochimaru intends to either stick around Konoha or have someone keeping tabs on the Uchiha to see if he'll be tempted to come looking for another quick-and-easy form of power. Most of Konoha would do just about anything to keep the Sharingan here..." Hinata mused.

"Which is probably why the snake-bastard wants him," Naruto suggested. "See what you can find out?"

The girl nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him and spend some extra time on it if I have to." Checking her watch, she sat up and regarded the blond. "I don't suppose I have to explain the benefits of having you tell me whatever it is Jiraiya has you working on while you're gone?"

Grinning, the boy shook his head. "Nah. Maybe it'll be some cool jutsu that'll come in handy later."

Haku shuddered. "So long as you don't repeat the Wave mission with it," she allowed, drawing a shake of the head from Hinata. Naruto with that terrible red chakra was bad enough—the blond with any sort of real technique beyond shadow clones would be another story altogether, and she didn't want to have to face that again even if she wouldn't remember doing so the first time.

"I don't think I'll be going back that far any time soon," the Hyuuga girl admitted. "Given my promotion and current events, it's more useful to stay in the here and now and learn all I can before going back. That also means getting my own seal up and running. Working with Orochimaru's cursed seal will help, as far as experience goes, but time..."

As the girl trailed off, Naruto and Haku traded a look before the blond asked, "Something up?"

"Just a thought," Hinata hummed. "We've got a pretty good idea that Orochimaru wants the Uchiha... Why don't we give him what he wants, and more?" Seeing the pair's confused looks, she smiled wide. Confusion turned to worry immediately. "I could defect, learn what I can, and then just come back to the here and now."

"Not a chance," the blond denied, only to see Haku looking pensive. "Don't tell me you're considering it?"

"It's not a bad plan," the hyouton user admitted. "We all know it would only be an infiltration mission as opposed to an actual defection, and the opportunity is nearly too good to pass up."

Sighing, Naruto nodded. "Okay, yeah, it'd be useful. Anko will be pissed, but..." he shrugged, then checked his watch. "I have to go. Don't do anything until I get back!" he warned, drawing a nod from the Hyuuga girl as she pulled him into a hug. A moment later, she was replaced by Haku. As they separated, Naruto pulled on his pack and slipped out the window. "See you in a month or so." He bit his lip for a moment in thought before nervously tossing a wave over his shoulder as he dropped down from the balcony. _'I should have said 'I love you,' right?' _he wondered. The thought would bother him most of the week.

"Why didn't he say 'I love you?'" Haku asked quietly as Hinata began to get changed.

The smaller girl smiled. "Boys and their feelings—they get embarrassed too easily. You shouldn't worry about it too much."

"More sage advice from Anko?" Haku asked, though she admitted it was probably accurate.

Hinata shook her head. "Kurenai-sensei, actually." Seeing Haku nod, already beginning to fold and put away the younger girl's discarded dress, Hinata smiled. "So, how do you feel about sneaking into T&I with me?"

* * *

"Something funny came across my desk this morning."

Hinata blinked, looking up from her notes to find Ibiki in the door to her newly-assigned office/lab in the labyrinth that was T&I. With Jiraiya's coaching, she had managed to unfold the first level of Orochimaru's seal on their dead Sound-nin. They had wasted no time in photographing the newly opened array and taking meticulous notes before quickly putting the body back into storage. It was thought that soon, they would be able to transfer the seal to another medium so as to be able to study it without the potential for degradation that having it on a cadaver would lead to. Until then, she had to make do with photographs and notes, trying to break down an abomination created by a mad genius that had stumped some of Konoha's brightest for the better part of a decade. Then again, given the fact that Yondaime and Sandaime both refused to allow experiments to be conducted on Anko—their only living test subject—progress had been stalled for years. Being the department's only 'tame' medic-nin—even if she was still just in training—and having a Sannin on tap for knowledge of seals had apparently made her too good for Ibiki to pass up. Her recent promotion to chuunin only made it that much more imperative for the head of Torture and Interrogation to take her in before some other department snapped her up.

Shaking out of her thoughts, the girl regarded the bandanna-clad jonin for a moment before asking, "Funny how?"

"Apparently some mid-level medic committed seppuku in his apartment, the night after the attack," Ibiki began, taking a seat on a stool across from the lab table the girl sat at. He took a moment to glance down at the girl's current project—a section of their Sound-nin's seal, blown up to several times its normal size and isolated from the rest with various notes detailing potential seal interactions. Nearby, he could make out other pictures, scattered across three other benches. On one wall, a dry-erase board was already covered in notes in three different colors of marker and a clone of the girl was ignoring the pair to focus on something in particular while relaying orders to another clone, who was apparently doing something with a several-foot-wide cork-board covered in a blown-up version of the entire seal in its open and closed states along with colored pins and string. Temporarily distracted, he pointed to the board. "What the hell is that?"

"A visual map of potential seal interactions and their placement within the seal array as a whole," she answered without looking back. "I'm putting it together using my notes and those from the two science divisions assigned to this thing, along with what was gathered over the years from Anko's seal. And what about the suicide?"

"You were there." To put it bluntly, Ibiki was annoyed. She had acted on her own instead of going through proper channels, acted irrationally, and in the process destroyed a potential lead. Everything Anko said about the girl told him she was better than that—which meant it was likely an impulsive reaction she hadn't fully thought through. That was both good and bad—good in that she could still have those and that, from what he could tell, her love for one of the few people she called friends drove her to it meaning that she could be controlled and that she really would do what it took to see things through even if it meant getting her hands dirty. It was bad in that it was _impulsive_—she obviously hadn't thought it through and at the moment was working on a damn-the-consequences mentality. That would not do. He could not have a loose cannon like that just doing as she pleased.

It was not a question, so Hinata did not treat it as such by bothering to deny it. "Yes." When it looked like the man was perfectly willing to play the long game and wait her out, she sighed and set down her notes. "I simply told him that it would be a huge loss of face for himself and his family if anyone were to find out about his violations of his oath—not to mention how he could be tried as a war criminal for attempting to murder a ninja of Konoha. However, given the fact that we are in a time of war and the civilian council needs to be seen doing something, there would likely be no trial and they would skip straight to a public execution. Apparently, he took it upon himself to take the more honorable way out."

Ibiki blinked. "What exactly did this guy do?"

"You told me to find Anko. I found her," Hinata shrugged. She didn't particularly want to supply more information than that, unless he forced her to.

The scarred jonin blinked again before shaking his head. "And you took it on yourself to take care of the problem instead of reporting it? I could have _used_ him—if there's something fishy going on in the medical corps, which I am beginning to suspect there is, I'd _like_ to know about it. I can't do that without people to question. You realize you could be court-martialed..." When he saw the girl seemed completely unphased, he frowned. "And that doesn't bother you one bit." Of course it wouldn't, she could simply undo everything—he was beginning to realize just how deeply-set that mentality had become, now. He would have to find some way of breaking her of it. It seemed his first task would be to somehow convince her to redo the event in their favor, as opposed to by her heat-of-the-moment reaction—_without_ letting her in on the fact that he knew she could. It would be a challenge. Fortunately, Ibiki _loved _a challenge.

"No." She knew Ibiki knew the likelihood of anyone actually following up on any such report was slim to none, considering those involved—namely Anko. It would be like the likely numerous reports of sporadic violence towards a certain blond filed over the years—either outright ignored or circular-filed, that is, trashed. However, she also knew he wasn't interested in those reasons—he was more interested in her personal motivations. Motivations she wasn't entirely willing to share, but if it kept the man from deciding she warranted her own comfortable room, then so be it. "He attempted to murder a ninja of Konoha, there's no telling what he would have done if it had been Naruto in Anko's place. He gave _someone I love_ a form of cancer intentionally made so malignant, she would have died before the end of the year and he would have gotten away with it because it would simply look like a natural progression that had been missed for years. And none of that makes a bit of difference because if it came up in any sort of official inquiry, the damn _council_ would see it thrown out because it was Anko and not someone they actually _cared_about!"

_'She can still be reached. This is good,'_ the jonin mused, watching as the girl closed her eyes and forcibly brought her breathing and heart rate back under control—by the end of it, she had actually been shouting. From the way her voice broke, he doubted she'd raised her voice in _years_. "You're wrong. The council couldn't just throw it out, because I wouldn't have let them. We don't give up our own. As for this... _incident_, I can bury this," the scarred jonin offered quietly. When she failed to react beyond opening her eyes and focusing her attention on his face, he continued. "I could put in my report that he had been interrogated and then executed under my orders, and nothing of value was found. Unfortunately, it won't hold up to any real scrutiny. Too many people know pertinent details that went into the crime-scene report—details like the scent and the few strands of hair you left behind; things that a shadow clone _wouldn't leave behind_, which means you made the mistake of being there with your real body. All of that points back to an at-the-time genin with no official affiliation with this department—I couldn't finish the paperwork on your reassignment until the promotion was official, which was a full day _after _this little stunt. I can prevent the worst of the backlash, but your ninja career's pretty much over once word of this gets out—no team or department will have you, because they won't believe you can be trusted."

She was silent for a moment as she thought on it—the fact that he was willing to go that far regardless meant he wanted her here pretty badly. To be sure, she asked, "And you?"

"We look after our own. You're an idiot, but your heart's in the right place and you do good work," he pointed towards the board bearing their diagram for emphasis. Standing and taking one last look around the lab, he headed towards the door. "Oh, and one more thing. Next time you decide to sneak your girlfriend in, get her a visitor's pass." Now, to watch and see which way she went—either she would accept her current situation and bear with it or he suspected he would simply not remember having this conversation.

From her place at the table, Hinata blinked. Hinata's clone studiously tacking pins into photos on a cork-board blinked, before her form wavered to reveal that of Haku. "So, I can bring guests?" the original—or what Ibiki thought may be the original—asked. On the man's shrug, she turned and shot Haku a smile as the door closed behind him. "So, I guess you get to be my assistant."

The ice-user waited until she man's footsteps had faded and Hinata gave a quick sweep with her dojutsu to confirm he was gone before asking, "What are you going to do?"

Sighing, the girl let her head fall to the table before her with an echoing _thump_. "Ibiki's right. I can't _do _things like this—it was careless." Frowning, she quietly admitted, "I'm getting sloppy." She had two choices, really—oh, she would be resetting herself for sure, it was just what to do once she did so that was the sticking point. On the one hand, she could simply kill the man herself—she had no doubt that ranged jyuuken to specific areas of the brain would likely induce a stroke, and if done with a clone would be untraceable now that Ibiki had confirmed that particular detail. In a way, it was something to be glad of allowing her emotions to get the better of her and having made this mistake in the first place—she now knew how to get away with murder.

On the other hand, she had killed him once—worse than that she had forced him into a situation where he had had to choose between his life or the lives of his family, and while she wouldn't actually have killed either of the uninvolved civilians, he had no way of knowing that. She had watched him die by his own hand once—wasn't that repayment enough? She couldn't leave him alone, that much was certain—he could try it again or attempt who-knows-what at a later date. No, Ibiki was right—they needed to know if it was just someone taking advantage of the chaos and taking a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when they saw one, or if it was part of something larger. Hinata, despite all her time in the hospital, couldn't honestly say whether or not such a conspiracy was possible. She didn't interact with many people beyond on a professional level, and while she knew some people were beyond question—such as Iryo-sensei, who she knew wouldn't stand for that sort of thing—the others she was unsure of.

"Perhaps," Haku agreed carefully. "There is something you should consider before you go."

"Hm?" Hinata asked, turning her head to regard the brunette.

Studying the map she had been creating on Hinata's direction, Haku hummed. "You realize this is too much for two people to handle, in the time-frame you want it handled in—even cheating. I know nothing about fuuinjutsu. You need help."

"I've got you, and you learn fast enough," Hinata denied, only to get a shake of the head in answer. "The other science teams—"

"Think you're some know-nothing upstart given a cushy office job either because of your family or your connection to Anko," Haku deadpanned, earning a flinch and a nod. "The only reason they agreed to part with copies of their notes was because they didn't think you'd even be able to read them, let alone use them—given that the list of people who knew you are studying under a Sannin could be counted on one hand at the time, they saw no threat in it. Had they known otherwise, we would be working from scratch. And that's ignoring the ill-will they will have if you stick around in the here and now, given what Ibiki-san said."

"You don't have to rub salt in it," Hinata murmured, glancing back down to her own personal notes. "I know what I'm up against."

Seeing her opening, Haku pressed her advantage. "Then you must know you need outside help. What about Anko?"

"Barred from study of fuuinjutsu."

"I did not know that," Haku murmured, shaking her head. "Okay, Nara then? He seemed bright."

Hinata rolled her eyes. "Shikamaru is probably the smartest person within ten years of our age in Konoha, when you can get him motivated. Unfortunately, the other genin need him more than I do."

Sighing, Haku nodded. "Then I am out of names. Why not draw up a list of your former classmates, including those who did not make genin, and then go by who had the best scores?"

Cringing, Hinata shook her head and slowly closed her notebook. "No need. I already know where to start," she sighed. "This is going to be hard enough as it is, better I get it over with quickly."

"That bad?" Haku asked, genuinely curious just who could elicit that sort of reaction from her friend.

"Worse."

* * *

Hinata woke in the Forest of Death to a gentle hand shaking her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking into Haku's own and for a moment, she was confused as to why it was dark. She knew that occasionally, the trip back woke her in the middle of the night, but this time someone else was waking her up—that had never happened before. Thankfully, Haku noticed her confused look and correctly interpreted the source of Hinata's confusion. Glancing around to make sure they weren't being observed, the ice-used leaned in until her lips brushed Hinata's ear and asked, "Second time?"

"Yeah," came the quiet answer.

"You've got watch with Naruto-kun until dawn, then we move out," Haku reminded gently, pulling back and smiling when she saw the look of realization on the younger girl's face.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about that," she murmured. _'It's inconvenient. I didn't want to spend four hours on watch and then another two running back into Konoha. There has to be an easier way,'_she mused, even as she and Haku traded places and she made her way into the higher branches of their tree alongside Naruto, already running a sweep with her byakugan, even though she knew it was unnecessary seeing that they hadn't run into trouble coming out of the training field. The next six hours were spent alternately pondering on how to keep from being forced to relive long moments of tedium such as the one she found herself in, planning the best possible approach on their turn-coat medic and Ibiki by extension, and what to do about Haku's suggestion to get help on that damned seal. Her first sign that anything was amiss came from the last person she wanted to draw suspicion from.

"Hokage-sama is dead—we think Orochimaru did it. As you can imagine, we need to find out how he infiltrated the village, and these three may well know." Ibiki frowned when she simply nodded. _'Something's not right. She knows this already.'_

"Why tell me?"

"Everything Anko's said tells me you belong here—you might as well start sooner, rather than later," Ibiki shrugged, though his eyes narrowed slightly as he caught her frown. "You've got the most experience with these three at the moment, so you're it."

_'I'm sure I remember him saying I wasn't as bright as Anko thought or something similar. Situations like this are why I need the seal.'_Turning her attention to Temari's pacing on the other side of the one-way glass before them, she decided to ignore it for the moment—some variance in events was expected, so Ibiki very may well have changed his mind about what to say. "Gaara doesn't know anything—he's just their attack dog. I slapped him with a temporary five-point elemental seal to contain Shukaku, but you're going to want to get a handle on that before he regains control over his sand. Temari may know a bit, but I promised she'd be treated well if she complied, so please be gentle. Kankuro's your best bet—just try not to break him. He came fairly willingly and we've already got his siblings as hostages, so there's no need to get too rough."

Ibiki snorted. "Don't tell me how to do my job, but I'll take it under advisement," he allowed. _'Yeah, I definitely get the feeling this isn't her first time through. She's getting antsy—it doesn't show much, but it's there.' _Finally, he ordered, "Go get your pet Suna-nin some clothes and take her to one of the more comfortable rooms downstairs, then go check on Anko for me. Kabuki-boy gets to stew for a while before I start asking questions." That was apparently the signal she was waiting for, as the girl's anxiety disappeared and she broke into motion, a clone appearing and heading for the supply closet containing what passed as clothes for prisoners while what he suspected was the original set a brisk pace for topside—Ibiki could have sworn she had to fight to keep from running. Unless he missed his guess, something was up with Anko and she knew, and had come back for some reason. Speculation was useless at this point until he had more information to go on, however.

A quick detour to the hospital to pick up biological waste containment bags and Hinata was on her way to Anko's apartment, not bothering inquiring at the front desk as to the woman's whereabouts. Once there, a clone phased into being on the other side of the woman's door and set about unlocking it. Anko was even more surprised this time, as Hinata hadn't knocked, and the woman proved she wasn't entirely incapacitated by dispatching the clone before Hinata's voice registered.

"Don't _do_shit like that, I could have killed you," the special-jonin chastised as she found herself quickly unbandaged and her pseudo-apprentice went immediately for the largest of her wounds. "What are you doing?"

"I've already done part of this week once. Long story short, the asshole who treated you decided to try and kill you." Finding what she was looking for, she quickly isolated it and shifted it out and into the biological waste disposal bag, before closing the bag and handing it off to a clone, who sealed the bag within a scroll. Hinata was tempted to send the clone ahead with the evidence she needed, except it would seem suspicious if she were to return this quickly with her find.

Anko blinked. "Did he manage to do it?"

Shaking her head, Hinata proceeded to close the woman's wounds. "No. I fixed the problem before it could actually become a problem—and then I killed him. Well, made him kill himself."

"That was a singularly stupid idea," Anko deadpanned. "This soon after the invasion, Ibiki would have been all over anything that looked funny. Random suicides scream 'something's fishy' in this sort of situation."

Hinata nodded. "Well, I know that now. It took him a couple of days—I guess that's how long it took for the paperwork to get there—but he figured out I was there."

"Look, um," Anko began, closing her eyes and sighing. "Don't do anything to cross Ibiki. Things like this will only make him paranoid, and then it's the cellar." When the hands above her stopped moving, she knew the girl had figured it out.

"How long?"

Hinata's voice was calm, too calm really. Screaming or tears would be preferable, in Anko's mind, to what she heard there—that was the sound of someone having realized they'd been betrayed and wanting to know just how badly before they cut ties, or got even. Anko steadfastly refused to open her eyes—she didn't want to risk seeing that betrayed look she realized she herself had worn at one point. "A couple of weeks."

"Why?"

"The thing you have to understand about Ibiki is that sometimes, he doesn't ask questions unless he already knows the answers. He's suspected something was up since shortly after you first made contact with me—too many things just didn't add up for him. He cornered me, laid out what he knew, and threatened to quarantine us both if he didn't hear an answer he liked." Anko felt the girl above her shift slightly and resume her work, but still refrained from opening her eyes. Still, the fact that Hinata hadn't simply ended herself and gone back to undo everything was a good sign—perhaps she was right after all, and the girl wouldn't simply abandon her.

"He didn't quarantine us," Hinata pointed out, after several long moments of thought.

A dry chuckle worked its way from her throat at the observation and the point it lead to. "Guess he heard something he liked."

She finished cleaning and closing Anko's wounds long before she had managed to order her thoughts. Finally, Hinata poked the taller woman in the forehead. "You can open your eyes. I'm not going to just leave you because he made you tell him."

"You're not?" Anko asked cautiously—and hating how pathetic her voice sounded. She was beyond this—had been for _years_. At least, she had been before there had been real hope. Cracking one eye open she took in the girl's face, which wore a look that was part annoyance, part exasperation.

"No, I'm not," Hinata confirmed. "I am... _annoyed_ you didn't tell me," she began, holding up a hand to quiet her patient when Anko went to explain. "I realize he likely ordered you not to. He probably wanted to judge my reactions honestly, right?" Anko nodded. "That man's mind is twisty."

"You don't know the half of it."

Nodding, Hinata turned her mind to her conversation with Ibiki in her lab. "He played me like a violin, getting me to come back here and fix everything. What the hell is he after?"

Anko rolled her eyes. "You can't guess?" On Hinata's shake of the head, she poked the girl's headband, where it draped around her neck. "A better Konoha. I suppose Ibiki's one of the few, true patriots. If you can prove you're not a danger to us all, he'll back you to the hilt."

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Seeing the utterly lost look on the girl's face, Anko sighed. "Tell him everything—even your fuck-up. If you're honest about it..."

"Right," Hinata murmured, pushing herself off her sensei and heading for the door. "I've got a medic to convince Ibiki to torture and I suppose a confession to make."

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Ibiki asked, regarding the plastic bag clearly marked as a biohazard that had been dropped onto his desk by Anko's Hyuuga protege, who looked just a little beyond annoyed.

"A death sentence."

Frowning, the head of Torture and Interrogation regarded the small lump of flesh and blood contained within the bag. "Be more precise."

Taking a seat in one of the chairs across the desk from the jonin, Hinata locked eyes with him and began. "One of our medics, either acting alone on what he saw as an opportunity or acting under orders from somewhere, attempted to assassinate Anko with that. It's a tumor, but it's been toyed with to the point that it would be lethal within a year. I assume that near the end, it would likely self-destruct to remove any evidence of foul play and her death would have simply looked like natural causes. If I'm honest with myself and ignore the fact that he tried to kill my sensei, it's good work—well, considering it was likely created within an hour or two of her arriving in the hospital. Of course, it's also a violation of _every_oath they take..."

"Do you have a name?" Ibiki asked, sealing what he now knew to be evidence away into a storage scroll and pocketing it.

"Urumeshi Kazeya," Hinata supplied, and nearly smiled at the feral grin that spread across the jonin's face. Of course, she wasn't finished. "I killed him."

Ibiki blinked. "What." That was not good news. He could have _used_ the little bastard to figure out if there was some sort of larger plot going on—things had smelled fishy amongst the medical corps for _years_and this was just the excuse he needed to start digging. Before his thoughts could carry him away, she continued.

"I broke into his home before his shift ended and waited while a clone collected his daughter from school and took her to her mother's home. When he returned home, I confronted him with the evidence and told him to do the smart thing and kill himself. A phone call from his daughter and my clone convinced him it was the best course of action." Seeing the man had gone very still, she continued. "Two days later, you confronted me about the incident and suggested that it would be better if we had a live prisoner to interrogate. Now you have one."

"Anko told you." It was not a question—she was the only one who knew he knew about the girl's unique circumstances, and he doubted she could have figured it out for herself on whatever cues his future self had given her alone.

Hinata shrugged. "She said something that made me suspicious. I asked her and she confirmed it."

"I see," the man murmured. "Is there anything else you'd like to share?"

"Someone will be in likely tomorrow with photos of Orochimaru and his Sound team holding up that wall-type technique that kept our forces out of that part of the fight. I'm a couple of days ahead on disassembling the sample of his cursed seal we've got in the morgue, but I need more help than I initially thought. The science teams assigned to it think I'm a joke, but there isn't a proper fuuinjutsu master among them—and while I'm no master, I'm the best we've got _and _I'm a qualified medic. I'd like clearance to bring in a couple of assistants."

"What makes you think you've got the job?" Given what she'd told him of her skills, along with what he'd heard from Anko, he wanted her in his department on that alone. Then there was the fact that it would be easier to keep an eye on her if she were close at hand. However, given her screw-up and what must—in her eyes—be an apparent betrayal from Anko, he needed to know her motivations. If she wasn't stable, they would have to find some way to contain her. Unfortunately, the only person he could think of for the job was Jiraiya, and the Sannin was off looking for his old teammate to see if she wanted to wear the big hat for a while.

Frowning, the girl thought the question over before recalling that Ibiki hadn't technically put in the paperwork for her transfer yet, because her promotion hadn't yet gone through. "What will it take to convince you I'm not a threat?"

Ibiki humed before asking, "Why are you willing to work on this, knowing Anko gave you up? Even if she was forced into it, there's got to be some feeling of betrayal there."

"There is, a little," Hinata admitted. "The mind says one thing and the heart says another." After a moment, she shrugged. "I owe her a lot and 'we don't give up our own' is something I agree with."

Giving it some thought, Ibiki nodded. "Alright. No more screw-ups," he warned, getting a nod. "Show up with whoever it is you plan to bring two days from now."

"What about Urumeshi?"

Ibiki's grin was wide and not entirely pleasant. "You let me worry about him."

* * *

Haruno Sakura was at a loss. Her shared mission with what remained of Team Eight along with bushy-brows' teammate had ended half an hour ago and the four of them—Tenten, Shino, Kiba, and herself—had reported in to the mission office and been on their way to a training field when she had been pulled aside by Hinata. It wasn't that the apparent second-in-command of their unit had taken her aside that had her at a loss. No, what had her at a loss was the small notebook currently held in her hands.

"Why do you want my help with this?" she asked, gesturing with the notebook.

"Can you do it or not?"

Sakura sighed, looking down at the notes again. "Yeah, probably. I mean, it's mostly one part stupidly-hard math and one part seal interactions for stuff I'm unfamiliar with—chemistry without chemicals. I did a little study in the academy, but _nothing _at this level. I'm not sure, but I think I see something close to four different sealing styles all crammed into one cohesive matrix. It probably shouldn't work, but I have to assume it does if you want help with it. And that still doesn't answer the 'why.'"

"Why you? Because of the available genin, you're the best with this sort of thing next to Shikamaru. He was my first choice, but you know how he is—besides, the other genin need him more at the moment. You, on the other hand, can be pulled from mission rotation with little-to-no issue."

"Yeah," Sakura admitted. "What about Sasuke? He'd probably—"

"No," Hinata denied instantly. Seeing the pinkette looked ready to protest, she held up a hand. "Those afflicted with this seal are prohibited from study of fuuinjutsu."

Sakura blinked, breathing out her annoyance in a long sigh. "Oh. I didn't know."

Seeing the girl still didn't look convinced, Hinata tried a different track. "Look, you saw what this thing does to people. Sasuke's only had the thing a little over a month and already he's more paranoid, easier to anger—he hides it well, but it's still there." On Sakura's nod, Hinata continued. "Now, take that and guess what would happen with over a decade of exposure." When Sakura's eyes went wide, the Hyuuga girl nodded. "Yeah. So, as you can see, I've got just as much reason for wanting to destroy that thing as you do. If we can figure out how to use it without the negative side-effects in the process, then so much the better, but getting it off has to come first."

"Who—" Sakura began, only to frown. "That woman you and Naruto-baka have been hanging around with lately. Mitarashi Anko?"

Hinata shrugged. "That isn't for me to say. Will you do it?"

"Yeah," the pink-haired girl nodded. "Anything I can do to help—"

"Good," Hinata smiled, snagging her notebook full of research on Orochimaru's seal—rebuilt from the ground up, but perhaps better than the original given her reset—and pulling another from her jacket before tossing it to Sakura. "Study this. Do not lose it or let anyone else so much as look at it. It'll get you up to what you need to know as far as seals—at least, most of those we've encountered so far. And it's more like six seperate sealing styles, not four."

Opening the notebook, Sakura found it stuffed cover-to-cover full of tiny, meticulous notes in Hinata's neat handwriting. "This... this will take me a week!"

"You have three days," the Hyuuga girl deadpanned. "Report to T&I tomorrow morning, oh six-hundred. You can study while you work." Seeing the girl about to ask, Hinata cut her off. "Take the stairwell from the mission office down two flights and out into the lobby. Tell whoever is on duty that I sent you and they'll issue you a badge. Go through the hallway to the stairs at the end, down four more flights. Third office on your left."

"What about missions—?"

Hinata shrugged. "I'll call Shikamaru and tell him you've been reassigned to me, then I'll send you to meet up with the others around two, unless we run over. Don't be late." The 'or else' hung there ominously, plain for Sakura to hear even if Hinata hadn't spoken it.

Following behind the shorter girl, Haku waited until they were out of ear-shot before asking, "Was that really so bad?"

Rolling her eyes, Hinata nodded. "Yes. I can feel the wound in my pride, right here," she murmured, tapping her chest.

Smiling, Haku chuckled and asked, "But it was worth it, right?"

"Maybe. I suppose we'll have to wait and find out if that oversized brain is as useful as I _hope_ it is."

* * *

"It's a containment seal—kind of like a modified storage seal."

"I knew that much already," Hinata deadpanned. "Tell me something I don't know."

Sakura sighed. She really didn't remember Hinata being quite this aggressive in the academy—in fact, the girl had barely stood out at all. Well, asside from the massive breasts as soon as she hit puberty compared to her peers, making her the most talked-about kunoichi for a full year until Hinata had started wearing that jacket. Come to think of it, Sakura had noticed the Hyuuga girl tended to wear the thing open or not at all recently. Then again, considering she was dating Naruto, maybe it wasn't that surprising.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Sakura pointed to a bit of seal off to the east quadrant of one of the sections Hinata had divided the thing into initially. Nine primary sections, five-or-more divisions per subsection, what looked like even more pieces still folded away separately, and they had now identified a _seventh _sealing style in use making that nearly all of the styles known in the Elemental Nations. It was an absolute beast, and further proof that its creator was madman—a genius, but absolutely insane. "Look, I think this part regulates opening and closing the storage seal—one of them anyway, as there seem to be at least three more in sections four, six, and nine—probably based on emotional state and/or chakra output. Use enough chakra—"

"Or direct chakra at it," Hinata countered, to which Sakura nodded.

"And it opens. After that, this," she pointed to the southern quadrant, "takes over and... I'm not sure exactly what it does."

"Opens a physical conduit bridging second, third, and fourth-dimensional space."

Sakura blinked. "Say that again?"

Haku sighed, prodding Hinata in the side. "In a language those of us who don't speak theoretical physics or master-level fuuinjutsu theory can understand."

Rubbing at her eyes, Hinata took a seat. "It's not something that you'll find in that notebook, and it's not master-level—at least, I don't think so. Close, but not quite," she denied, pointing to the notebook she had loaned Sakura, full of her collected notes from the Sannin before he had left Konoha with Naruto. In two days, Sakura had enough working knowledge to begin interpreting parts of Orochimaru's seal. By the fifth, they were now actively making progress. Hinata had to admit, the girl was bright. Maybe, if she was feeling kind, she would remember to introduce the girl to fuuinjutsu at a younger age and see what she could achieve with it. Until then, she still had to put up with _this_Sakura—annoying, immature, but amazingly professional when the situation called for it and actually something of a pleasure to work with. Hinata would die before admitting it to the pinkette's face, though.

"If not here, then where?" Sakura asked.

"The hospital," was the short answer. Seeing Sakura's questioning gaze, Hinata pointed to a photograph on her wall-to-wall map. "Where does that point correspond on the closed seal?"

Haku hummed in thought, eventually finding the corresponding point on the wall's blown-up photographs of the entire seal in its open state before tracing the piece of string—blue—to where it came to rest on a similar photo of the seal in its closed form. "There," she pointed.

"That's blue, isn't it?" Hinata asked, getting a nod. "Change it to green. From now on, green means medical. Red, mental—so change the one on the east quadrant accordingly. Also, link east to south with another piece of red."

"Right," Haku nodded, already halfway into replacing what needed replacing. "So what does it do?"

"No, more importantly, what are you seeing that we aren't?" Sakura asked, getting a smile at her question.

"More like what can my eyes see that yours can't," Hinata clarified. "Under the south quadrant of section one there is a tiny latticework of artificial micro-capillaries, connected directly to the jugular vein. That lattice is present on Anko-chan, Sasuke, and our cadaver—even if it wouldn't show up in photographs, for obvious reasons. It's one of only two parts that's connected physically in the cadaver and it's probably our best bet for breaking the damn thing. Except, there's a problem."

Sakura frowned, studying the seal for several long moments before putting forward a guess. "It's not the same seal, is it?"

"Right in one," the smaller girl nodded. "The seal on our cadaver is an Earth-type curse-seal. Anko and Sasuke both have Heaven seals."

"What's the difference?" Haku asked, getting a shrug from Hinata.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Since they had no one to experiment on, it would be impossible to determine all of the differences between the two. Besides which, Hinata was beginning to suspect the seal itself was an upgraded model, even compared to Uchiha's—a second stage of the seal's progression, perhaps. "As for the medical seal there you were wondering about, it's pretty rare. It's used to regulate dosage of chemicals directly into the bloodstream—adrenaline, insulin, antibiotics, general poison antidotes, that sort of thing. To my knowledge, no one really uses them any more except in extreme cases—terminally ill, over-paranoid ANBU with medic friends, and the like. The seals themselves aren't hard to create, but creating the actual, physical connection between seal and body _is_and then bridging them to allow some physical liquid to pass from storage space, to intermediary space, to the body is even more so but it's what that thing does. It forces the body to grow new capillaries that terminate at an artificial gland. Sort of. In reality, they're not connected to anything and matter simply phases into being in them. It's weird, but it works."

Turning nervous green eyes on the wall, Sakura hummed. "So, then what's it pumping them full of? Whatever it is can't be good."

Hinata's grin was ear-to-ear. "I don't know, how about we open it up and find out? While we're at it, there's a hunch I want to check out." Setting down her notes, Hinata gestured the other two kunoichi to follow, leading them up to Ibiki's office. Three quick knocks opened the door and the trio found themselves looking at the scarred visage of Morino Ibiki. Wasting no time, Hinata began her explanation. "So, I've got a hunch, but I need to cut open the corpse to get to it though."

"What sort of hunch?" Ibiki asked, intrigued, as he pulled his bandanna back on out of courtesy, knowing his scars tended to unnerve most people—and apparently the pinkette was one of those people.

Taking a relieved breath as the scars disappeared, Sakura explained. "We think part of the seal is holding some sort of chemical compound that's responsible for the surge in chakra output."

Humming, Ibiki took a moment to dig through a stack of folders before finally coming to the proper one and pulling out a compiled after-action report collected from that very genin, along with her annoying teammate and the less-than-forthcoming Uchiha and most of the other rookie Konoha genin who were witness to the scene. "You mean... the 'purple, heavy chakra' described by almost everyone who saw it as being terrifying?"

Sakura blinked. "Almost? Who didn't?"

"Uzumaki," Ibiki deadpanned.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura sighed. "Naruto wouldn't. Between the two, Naruto's red chakra is actually scarier."

Haku hummed. "I'd almost forgotten you saw that too," she murmured.

"Three times," the girl admitted quietly. "It doesn't get easier."

"Actually, it's more reassuring than terrifying," Hinata countered. Seeing Sakura's incredulous look, she smiled. "I know it's not pointed at me, and whoever it _is_pointed at is probably about to die painfully."

"Right," the pinkette muttered, shaking her head.

"So, what could you do with this stuff if you had it?" Ibiki asked, cutting through the chatter. Something that could boost their troops' chakra output would be invaluable.

Hinata shrugged. "Not sure yet. I don't think I'd want to use it on friendly troops—it probably has some sort of long-term detrimental effects, given what we know about those bearing the seal. But once we have a sample, we could probably neutralize it—so no more cheap super-soldier troops for Orochimaru. Well, when I say 'we' I mean the science division since this is more their specialty—I'm a medic, not a chemist."

"And the rest of it?" Ibiki asked, getting a confused look from Sakura. Turning his gaze on Hinata, he asked, "Your hunch?"

"Oh, that," the girl smiled. "I think our cadaver's seal is probably more advanced than Anko's or Uchiha's. I'd need to touch it to prove it, though—specifically probe the thing with medical chakra and see if anything lights up. Since what I guess is the first stage puts down roots in the form of capillaries, I'm guessing the second stage grows ganglia and nerves and somehow links up to the nervous system—no idea why it would, but it'd be the next logical step."

"What's the risk?"

A shrug was the jonin's answer. "Artificial nerves and the like misfire and it blows up in my face if I screw up. I don't think it will, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility."

Frowning, the head of Torture and Interrogation nodded. "Fine. Send a clone in to do the whole procedure. The morgue is secured against most booby-trapped bodies, so it should hold up fine if anything goes sideways. That everything?" On the girls' nods, he waved towards the door. "Get to it. If you get anything out of that corpse, get a sample over to the science division as soon as possible."

* * *

_'This was a terrible idea,' _Hinata thought, pressing her back against the door to her lab while Haku focused on encasing it in ice. "This was a terrible idea!"

The door thudded against Hinata and Sakura holding it and Haku winced as part of it cracked. "When I say move, move."

"What the hell is that thing?!" Sakura yelped, even as the thing in question shrieked from the other side of the door and slammed into it again.

"This is all your fault!" Hinata accused, cursing herself for having the misfortune to have been born with a byakugan and an innate sense of curiosity that just wouldn't let her turn her sight away from the abomination on the other side of the door attempting to force its way through to their side.

"How is this my fault?! You said it would be perfectly safe!" Sakura wailed as the door splintered further.

"Move!"

Two kunoichi dove away from the door as the water Haku had collected from the air and surrounding facilities flash-froze into a two meter thick and equally wide wall around the door, inside and out. The thumps continued, but this time the door refused to budge. "Do you think that will hold it?" Sakura asked, panting as her heart slowly came back into something approaching a normal rhythm.

Hinata opened her mouth to answer, only to be cut off by the sound of a door at the end of the hall flying open and boots thumping on the floor. Morino Ibiki stalked down the hall, flanked on either side by a masked ANBU. "What the hell happened here?"

"She did it!"

Ibiki blinked, regarding the two girls pointing at each other momentarily before turning his attention to the saner of the trio. "Well?"

Haku sighed. "Sakura-san wanted to do a live-animal test with the compound we found—"

"Enzyme compound," Hinata corrected absently. What little she could do with medical diagnostic jutsu had told her that much, but not what it did, where it came from, or anything else really useful.

"Hinata-chan decided that using a common earth-worm for our test subject should be safe," Haku continued, only to be interrupted by another shriek and the sound of ice cracking. Her eyes went wide momentarily before she slapped her hand on the block of ice and reinforced her barricade. "She was wrong."

"I can see that," Ibiki deadpanned. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't torch the room?"

Sakura nodded quickly. "Yes, please, kill it with fire!"

"Don't you dare!" Hinata countered. "My notes and our samples are in there. You'll set us back a month or more, and that's not counting losing all our samples of that stuff."

"Thought I told you to take that to the labs?" Ibiki asked, though given the presence of the Haruno girl, he did not point out the obvious fact that his newest recruit would only lose a day at most.

Hinata rolled her eyes. "I did. Do you really think they're going to part with any just because ours burned up?" Seeing the man shake his head, she grinned. "Didn't think so. Also, from now on, all tests need to be carried out in rooms prepared to deal with this kind of thing. Reinforced walls, ceilings, floors, doors, and _fire_."

"Sir?" one of the ANBU prompted, gaining Ibiki's attention. A moment later, the jonin frowned.

"It's quiet. Too quiet." Ibiki smirked at the flinches that earned.

Recognizing the prompt for what it was, Hinata reactivated her dojutsu—having dropped it reflexively when the ANBU showed up—and swept the area. "I think it's dead. Haku, can you get the door?"

The wall of ice melted into a wall of water, only to reconstitute into a wall of senbon hovering behind the brunette in the event something came flying out of the room the moment the door opened. Sakura and Hinata stood aside as the two ANBU took up breach positions to either side of the door and drew ninjato. At Ibiki's nod, they threw the door open. When nothing happened, Ibiki slowly strode into the room, only to stop and stare down at the floor. "That has got to be the _ugliest _damn thing I have ever laid eyes on."

When the jonin stepped further into the room, the kunoichi entered swiftly, followed by their ANBU guard. Hinata wasted no time retrieving a set of tongs and lifting her newest sample off the floor, before putting it on a tray atop one of the further tables. _It _more resembled a snake than an earth worm—and that is where its resemblance to anything remotely normal ended. Its flesh was an angry red, though it was hard to see given the thick, black armored scales interspersed by razor sharp, rear-facing spines of the same color all across its length. The head began where the armor plates became slightly thicker and much larger, surrounding a heavily muscled jaw that looked as though it was hinged to open both horizontally and vertically and capped in a sharp, armored beak. This was proven accurate when Hinata retrieved a set of forceps and pried them open, to reveal row upon row of serrated teeth and barbs. Around the thing's head, between armor segments, they could make out tiny, beady black eyes—somewhere near thirty, based on those visible from the top—interspersed with what looked like ear holes and something no one could quite identify though would later be identified as heat-sensing pits, as in the kind found on some species of viper. Further study would identify tissue along the thing's body that would allow it to detect electrical impulses in the same way a shark did.

"Check this out," Sakura murmured, pointing a second set of forceps at a set of four sacs, one for each jaw, leading to a series of four ducts set in the segmented beak. "What do you make of this?"

"Poison glands?" Ibiki supplied, getting a slow nod from the kunoichi. "See if you can extract some for study—_carefully_. No idea what the hell is in those. Use a reinforced glass syringe and a long needle." After a moment, he grinned. "Imagine what dropping something like this in the enemy ranks would do."

"Too dangerous," Hinata countered, drawing a raised brow in question. "Too dangerous to _our _side. This one was pretty indiscriminate as to who it was after."

Ibiki shrugged, conceding the point. "Now we know what this stuff does. Seal that thing up when you're done extracting whatever's in those glands and then get it over to the science division. It'll probably keep them busy for a while. No more live tests for you in this lab—borrow one of the secure biological labs from the science division if you want to play with anything else like this," he warned, getting a nod of agreement in answer. As an afterthought, he added, "And for the love of the gods, if this is any sort of indication as to what this stuff can do, no experimenting on anything larger than a mouse and absolutely no human trials."

Hinata nodded—though that didn't mean she wouldn't simply ignore his order and do it anyway, and then reset things once she'd learned what she needed. Then again, he would probably be watching for just that, now that he knew her secret—it may just be best not to tempt fate. "Well, for all this, we've learned at least one thing." Seeing she had Ibiki's attention, she gestured towards what had once been a common earthworm. "We need to destroy those seals as soon as possible. If they can somehow be remotely activated—"

Shaking his head, the jonin cut her off. "If it hasn't happened yet, it likely isn't going to."

"We can't know that for sure," the smaller girl countered. "It's what I would do, if I had no more use for someone with one of these seals. And bear in mind, I used only a minuscule amount of the stuff and the human body is host to a normal of natural symbiotic organisms living at the microscopic level—the Earth seal we opened up contained nearly a full liter of the compound. Imagine what sort of super-flu could be created with a human host pumped full of this stuff—or flesh-eating bacteria and who knows what else."

"Fine. Point taken," the older ninja nodded. "Focus on removing, disabling, or destroying the seals outright. Everything else comes second. If they can't be removed, maybe we can find a way to neutralize whatever the hell that stuff is. Barring that, maybe we can just remove it directly from an active seal."

"A combined seal based off the ones in the south and east quadrants of the first section carrying an antidote, set to activate if Orochimaru's seal activates, maybe?" Sakura suggested, getting a nod from Ibiki and Hinata, both approval and agreement on the potential to reverse engineer Orochimaru's seal controlling release of the enzyme compound if simply removing either the seal or its payload failed.

"And on that note, I think I'm going to call it a day," the elder jonin murmured, stalking off towards the stairs. "Seals that make monsters out of people. What the hell is wrong with the world?"

"I need a drink," Hinata grumbled, for once fully empathizing with Anko the desire to blot a memory from existence with alcohol. Well, it wasn't so much a memory as the thoughts of what could have happened had their pet project broken loose, fueled by visual memory of the thing in action courtesy of her eyes.

Beside the Hyuuga girl, Haku nodded—much to her surprise. "Agreed."

Trading a glance, the pair turned their eyes to Sakura—who looked suddenly nervous. "Ah, I don't think—" she began, only to be cut off by two pairs of arms, a pair each trapping one of her own as the dark-haired duo dragged her up and out of the bowels of the offices and laboratories of Torture and Investigation.

It was nearing midnight when Hinata, enjoying Sakura's discomfort at the show Anko and Kurenai were putting on at a nearby table, finally broached the question she had been planning to ask since managing to kidna—convince Sakura to join them. Apparently, Anko had either gotten bored or frisky—or both—and decided to brave the outside world again despite the fact that she needed bed rest to finish healing and regaining her strength naturally. Hinata made a mental note to temporarily paralyze the woman from the waist down, next time—aside from keeping Anko in bed, it would be amusing to watch the woman suffer a bit of her own frustration.

"Why are you the way you are?" Seeing she had the pinkette's attention, though the girl had no idea what she meant, the Hyuuga girl hummed a moment before rephrasing. "Why are you so hung up on the Uchiha, when it's plainly clear he neither needs nor wants your attention—or that of any of his fangirls, really? You could do better."

Surprisingly, Sakura snorted. "I have not drank nearly enough to answer that," she denied, deadpan.

"That can be remedied," Haku murmured, not quite so keenly interested as Hinata, but willing to listen. After all, it would answer one of Konoha's greatest riddles: what drove the fangirls to their acts of lunacy?

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura shot a suspicious look between Hinata and Haku. "You aren't using your powers for evil, are you?"

Blinking, Hinata gave a slow smile before shaking her head. "If by that, you mean 'am I trying to infiltrate you,'" she lead, getting a blushing nod in answer. "Then yes. If you mean to ask whether or not I intend to infiltrate your pants," she paused long enough for another blushing nod, this one coming fast enough to send the pinkette's hair bobbing. "Then no. Your virginity is safe, for the moment." Seeing the pinkette still looked unconvinced, the Hyuuga girl hummed. "Honestly, I just want to know more about you. I've found I don't hate you quite as much as I initially thought."

Sighing, the pinkette nursed her own sake a moment before shrugging. "It's kind of a long story," she hemmed, though seeing neither of the other kunoichi objected, she realized she might as well answer. "What you have to understand is that I didn't have many friends as a child—I wasn't exactly well-liked."

It was Sakura's turn to be surprised by a snort from Hinata across from her. "Bullshit."

"It's true," the pinkette grumbled.

"What about that little clique you, Ino, and pretty much every other kunoichi-wannabe fawning over Uchiha had going?"

Sakura winced minutely, the venom there plainly audible. "They weren't exactly what I'd call _friends _so much as... an alliance of like-minded girls, united by a single goal. None of us truly liked any of the others, save Ino and I—and that... Well, you see how that turned out," she shrugged. After a moment, she added, "I'm sure you know exactly what sort of character they had, having been just as outside the group as Naruto, on the outside looking in."

Slowly nodding, the Hyuuga girl asked, "Why was that, exactly?"

"At first? Because you seemed unapproachable—the untouchable Hyuuga Princess. Your family's reputation is not exactly the sort that draws a lot of friends. After that, once it became apparent that you were about as far from them as it was possible to be and still be a Hyuuga, no one really bothered because there wasn't really a place for you. Besides, everyone but Naruto could see you had a crush on him," she smiled faintly before taking another sip from her glass. "But what you're really dying to ask is, 'why were you all so cruel to Naruto,' right?"

Seeing no need to lie as the pinkette had her pegged, Hinata nodded. "Exactly that question."

Humming, Sakura's smile returned as her mind turned towards happier, though brief, memories. "It wasn't always like that, you know? The first week or so of the academy, before teachers and I assume parents started telling us to avoid him—that he was a troublemaker. I remember my mom saying the same thing," she murmured, the smile slipping briefly. "Naruto wasn't always the loud, annoying baka he was later on towards graduation."

"He only did that to get attention," Hinata interrupted, earning a nod from Sakura.

"I know," the girl admitted.

"Then why—"

"Why did I string him along?" Haruno asked, to Hinata's surprised nod—surprised that the girl would actually admit to it. "I suppose I am only just now realizing that a girl can have guy friends without them being boyfriends, and vice verse, but it was nice having someone there willing to be my friend, or my boyfriend, or whatever I wanted if I'd just say so—that no matter what I said or did, no matter how mean I was he would keep coming back as long as it looked like there was still hope that we could be friends again, and all I had to do was smile for him every great now and then. I knew I could have just told him straight out that I would be his friend but didn't want to be his _girlfriend_ and he would have gladly accepted. Hell, he would have stopped even if I'd just told him honestly I didn't even want to be friends instead of always yelling or hitting him—but I didn't _want_him to stop. Maybe that makes me a liar, and a horrible person, but I didn't want to give that up. I suppose I didn't really realize it, until I didn't have Naruto to fall back on any more. The exam, the war—it's been an eye-opening experience."

"I was wrong," Hinata murmured, drawing the Haruno girl's green eyes up from where they'd been studying the table to her own. "I hate you now more than ever."

"I know," Sakura murmured, nodding. "I was a manipulative bitch—I suppose I still am, since I haven't even apologized. And now you have what I could have had all along, this whole time, if only I'd just dug my head out of my ass."

"The Uchiha's ass," Haku corrected, earning a subdued chuckle.

"I suppose so," Sakura admitted. "I know Sasuke will never be the kind of man Naruto will one day be—he's too focused on killing his brother for anything else to matter. We all thought it was so cool, but being on a team with him... well, I have been mostly faking it for a while now," she shrugged. "But Naruto... He was so nice—nicer than anyone else I'd met, and this was before Ino just sort of waltzed in and picked up the pieces. He was happy to talk with anyone, about anything really, just so long as they'd be his friend. It was... easy. He never teased me about my hair, or my forehead, or the tiny little sticks I had for arms and legs. Well," she mused, grinning as she glanced down, "I suppose that part hasn't changed much either." Shooting a glance between her own chest and Hinata's, she rolled her eyes. "Nor have all of us been quite so... _blessed._"

"What happened to put an end to that?" Haku asked, wondering if it was Sakura's own mother who had put her off their blond lover or if it was something else.

Hinata, on the other hand, had a good guess already. After all, she'd been quite the active little stalker even then. "That was the time they beat you both up, wasn't it?" she asked, getting a slow nod. She had only really seen one half of the fight. Having followed Naruto and Sakura out to where they had been picking flowers at Sakura's insistence—but too afraid to approach, for reasons she couldn't even remember now—she had watched as the pair were surrounded by a group of six other potential kunoichi. Children are often needlessly cruel to each other, with little to no reason beyond simple enjoyment of watching someone else's torment, and those girls were no different.

Naruto, being Naruto, had attempted to stand up for Sakura. They had been outnumbered and surrounded, however, and the boy had been brought to the ground and introduced to more than one sandal-shod foot. Surprisingly, Sakura had _not_simply sat there and cried or run away—she had actually punched one of the other girls in the head, for all the good it did. Somehow, before she could be dragged down herself, the pinkette had broken through and run. The hesitation between trying to decide whether to give chase or continue with the easy target Naruto provided was all the blond needed to make good his own escape. From there, Hinata had followed the boy through the streets of Konoha to his apartment home. She remembered, that was the first time she'd ever gotten him a gift, as she'd used all of her allowance for that week to buy whatever she thought could help him—though she supposed what amounted to bandages and alcohol hardly counted as gift material.

"I suppose," Sakura murmured, breaking Hinata from her thoughts, "I still regret running away. I haven't thought of that in _years_, but now... Yeah. I shouldn't have run." Sighing, she shook her head and finished off her drink before refilling the glass from the bottle in the middle of the table. "Ino, though," she smiled again, this one more wistful. "Ino was great. I suppose it's true, what they say about the clans—you guys are taught this stuff from the time you can walk, whereas everyone else just sort of has to make do with starting in the academy." Seeing the pair's curious looks, she chuckled. "I forget what she was even out there for that day—probably something for the flower shop. Anyway, apparently Ino's dad had started teaching her basic taijutsu early or something. By the time she got there, they had me down and were all set to introduce me to their sandals, and Ino runs in and just _thrashes_three of those girls—put them on the ground screaming bloody murder. I wasn't in a position to see what she did but I'm pretty sure she didn't actually hurt any of them, but—well, you know how kids are." She shrugged again. "The others just sort of scattered but by then the parents were starting to show up."

"Makes you wonder where they were when all of that started," Haku mused, getting a head shake from Hinata.

"I remember seeing at least three women just watching and smiling, like all was right with the world." Shaking her head again, Hinata drained her own glass and paused long enough to refill. "It didn't make sense at the time, but I suppose now it does—in a twisted, psychotic sort of way."

Nodding, Sakura continued. "Ino... I guess the best way to put it is to say that she has a soft spot for hopeless cases—or she did. She became my friend, my confidante, everything I really wanted at that age. I think Naruto even tried a time or two to join in—except by then, everyone's parents were warning their kids to stay away and Ino listened to her dad and told him to get lost. And where I had Ino to discourage the others, Naruto didn't. Eventually, those girls made up with us and we all sort of joined up with Ino as our leader for a while. One of the others, I think it may have been Kyoko—I can't remember her family name for the life of me now. Remember, the one with the orange hair?" On Hinata's nod, Sakura grinned. "She was the ring-leader when it came time to pick on Naruto. Now that I think about it, I think she may have actually liked him—but was about as bad as you about expressing it, just in the complete opposite direction."

"I have never heard of a girl convincing her friends to gang up on and then beat up a boy she likes," Hinata deadpanned.

"Ah," Haku murmured, drawing the others' attention. "It happens. Not all of my time with Zabuza-sensei was spent on the road—and it helps when you've got an adult nearby willing to explain what's going on."

Sakura shrugged. "I could be wrong. Then again, she was always pretty rebellious—it could have been the whole 'forbidden fruit' thing that attracted her to him. Tell a kid not to do something and it almost guarantees they'll do exactly that." A teasing grin spread across her lips before she asked, "So, is that why you—"

"No."

Sakura blinked, then rolled her eyes. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"I have not drank nearly enough to tell you that," Hinata smiled.

Snorting into her hand, Sakura shook her head. "Okay, I suppose I deserved that one. So, why the sudden interest in the early years?"

Hinata's shrug was casual, but she felt more than saw the eyes of both Anko and Haku on her. A moment later, she realized she'd somehow attracted Kurenai's own red-eyed gaze. Smiling, she decided to go for broke and see what kind of reaction she could get from the woman who had been like a sister and surrogate mother to her—Anko's recent escapades notwithstanding. "If you could go back and do it all over, knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently?"

"I would, but it's kind of pointless living in the past when we can't do anything to change it."

The Hyuuga girl's expression had gone flat, but she persevered—Sakura had, in a roundabout way, just said that everything she believed in, had done, and was yet to do meant absolutely nothing. "Humor me."

Shrugging, the pink-haired girl hummed a moment before sending the Hyuuga across from her a small smile. "Well, for starters, I think I would have gotten to know you better. I think it would have been fun, the four of us together—you, me, Ino, and Naruto."

_'Gods and ancestors above, save me from my own fool heart,' _Hinata mused, realizing she had more in common with Ino than she'd realized—or had perhaps inherited that penchant for taking in wounded strays. "Fine."

Sakura blinked in confusion. Beside her, Haku blinked as well, though more in surprise. At a table nearby, no longer so subtly eavesdropping, Anko and Kurenai also blinked—much like those of Haku and Sakura, one in confusion and one in surprised realization. "'Fine?'" Sakura asked, getting a nod from Hinata. Suddenly, for some reason, she got the feeling she had just passed some sort of test—could almost hear Hinata repeating Kakashi-sensei's words that day, 'You pass.'

"Apologize first," the Hyuuga girl stipulated.

Chuckling as she misunderstood, Sakura grinned. "I never said I wanted to be part of your weird little harem, but sure, I'll apologize when he gets back from where ever he and Jiraiya-sama have gotten off to."

"I never invited you to my weird little harem, but then that isn't exactly up to you to decide either," Hinata smirked.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So, I suppose it's also true what they say about the Hyuuga." Seeing she had Hinata's attention, she grinned. "Growing up in a house full of people able to see through walls, you all go one of two ways: either you become prudes or you turn out to be the biggest perverts."

"Technically, use of the byakugan isn't allowed within clan walls," Hinata denied. "However, you are mostly right—just because it isn't allowed doesn't mean it isn't used anyway. The constant paranoia _does_ tend to breed either prudes, voyeurs, exhibitionists, or other deviants. But I was a pervert _long _before I even knew what one was, and the clan had very little to do with it beyond giving me the means to do so."

She had learned about sex at the age of _six_, when her byakugan first activated and expanded to over a kilometer in range—which was not unusual for a first activation save that she was several months behind the typical activation age. Given that most children attempted to use far too much chakra the first time and it took a lot to 'open' her eyes initially, accidental damage by overuse and overpowering their eyes happened fairly frequently. She couldn't see straight for a week, afterwards. Even once she figured out how to actually control it, it would occasionally activate on its own if her chakra control slipped during practice. It was just one more part of why her father had begun focusing on Hanabi—what he perceived as poor natural ability with their bloodline. Between inevitable accidents and natural curiosity, she was not exactly naive to acts between man and woman by the time she entered the academy—which lead to a case of near terminal shyness and perpetual fear of being labeled a pervert. When puberty hit and her breasts sprang out seemingly overnight, she became popular for just long enough to realize it was the wrong sort of popularity—thus, she began wearing the coat. Now, of course, she had Naruto and no real reason for the coat beyond habit—if someone's eyes lingered longer than was appropriate, she could actually do something about it now.

"You were a _creepy _little stalker," Sakura smiled, drawing a chuckle from Haku—and likewise Anko and Kurenai nearby—as Hinata shrugged, pulled from memories of years long past.

"This is the second time someone has pointed it out, but both times it has been with the same observation—that it is your harem, and not Naruto's," Haku pointed out.

"There wasn't even going to be one..." Hinata shrugged. "Well, since I'm doing the recruiting, I suppose that makes it mine. Besides, I blame Anko."

Not even bothering to pretend not to be listening in any more, the woman in question snorted. "Much as I'd love to take credit, I'm only partially to blame. The potential was always there."

Hinata rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You _are_proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"A bit," the woman admitted. "So, are you going to seal the deal with pinkie over there or what?"

Seeing Sakura shooting worried glances between herself and Anko, Hinata shook her head. "No. I think I'll just wait and do my thing and fix it earlier."

"Dangerous," Anko pointed out. "Blondie might not go for it."

Hinata snorted. "Ye of little faith. Besides, I have a _plan_."

"Please tell me this plan doesn't involve me," Sakura deadpanned, not having understood most of that exchange.

Turning her eyes on the pinkette, Hinata smiled wide—the one typically reserved for foxy blonds. Across from her, Sakura twitched, causing the smile to widen fractionally. "Don't you worry your pretty little pink head about it." Standing, she took hold of Haku's hands and began to pull the taller kunoichi from the booth. "Come on, it's time we headed home."

"Why do I get the feeling it is not for the purpose of sleep?" Haku rolled her eyes, but obediently slid out of the booth and made her way to her feet. Absently, she corrected Hinata's balance as the smaller girl overbalanced slightly—apparently nearing her limit on alcohol intake, where Haku had managed to stick to her one glass of something far weaker than Anko's usual fare for the duration, knowing her own incredibly low tolerance.

Smiling wide, Hinata made for the door. "You know me too well. Be a good cuddle-toy and come along. Now if only Naruto-kun would hurry back..."

As the two made their way onto the sidewalk, Haku smiled as she put her arm around her smaller companion to save having to steady her every few seconds. "So, since when were you building a harem?"

"I wasn't," Hinata shrugged. "At least, that was never my intent. You showed up and that just sort of happened. Sakura, I just plan to do something nice for, eventually." A small giggle escaped her lips and she mentally added, _'Maybe Ino didn't just want to be her friend.'_

"Oh? I just wasn't enough for you, huh?" the ice user smirked, only to blush as the shorter girl stood on her tip-toes and planted a wet kiss on her lips.

"I never said that," the Hyuuga girl denied.

Regaining her bearings, Haku again attempted to press the attack. "And what about Anko?"

"Comes and goes as she pleases. Like—"

"A cat, I know," the ice user rolled her eyes. "And Temari—you really needed a pet?"

Hinata shrugged. "Temari is a victim of circumstance. With her, it is... more of a joke, really—if you could call it that," the girl admitted. "Well, at least as far as she is concerned. I didn't think she'd go for it but since she did, I just want to see how far she'll take it, given the excuse. Her brother's a psychotic mass-murderer through no fault of his own, so she hasn't exactly had much in the way of human companionship. Given the excuse to change it... it should be interesting. Besides, now that I've promised her something I can't exactly go back on it—I don't think I'd feel right not following through even if I reset, unless she doesn't want me to." Sensing the taller girl's eyes on her, she sighed. "The other part's a test." When she was met with only silence, she narrowed her eyes and gave in. "Fine. It's sort of a litmus test, for myself. 'Power corrupts,' or so the saying goes—I need to know whether that's true of me or not. I need you and Naruto to tell me, if I go too far—and not just with Temari. You have to be my conscience, if my own fails." She had, after all, already abused her power at least once now.

"Isn't the test biased, if you know it's a test?" Haku asked quietly.

"Yes and no," Hinata admitted. "I know it's a test, but I'm also about the only one capable of undoing my work unless the old pervert takes an interest—so theoretically, there are no checks and balances and no one to truly stop me aside from myself. I could just set the thing off and then fix it all and do it all over again if I wanted—I want to know if the temptation is there, so I am aware of it and at least have a chance of resisting."

"Is the temptation there?"

Pausing long enough to consider it, Hinata shook her head. "No."

Haku nodded. "And it likely won't be. Temari hasn't given you any reason." Beside her, Hinata shrugged, and Haku thought a moment before it occurred to her. "Ah," Haku hummed, drawing the shorter girl's gaze. "I think I know what this is about."

"Oh?" Hinata asked, wanting to know just how well the ice user knew her.

The taller kunoichi smiled. "You want to know if, given the opportunity, you can resist the temptation to simply dispose of anyone who has ever done Naruto any wrong. That, and your family—you've seen how their use of the Caged Bird seal turned out and you want to know if you're better than they are seeing as you are delving pretty deeply into fuuinjutsu."

_'She does know me well,'_Hinata mused, before nodding. "Pretty much."

"Don't worry," Haku murmured, mussing the shorter girl's hair a bit. "I'm not entirely sure, given that I am not particularly familiar with your clan, but... I think you are everything they lack. You won't abuse what power you have, even if you purposefully lead yourself into temptation." She paused a moment before adding, "There will, of course, be times where you'll have to _use_that power—but I'm pretty sure you know the difference between just and unjust." They were ninja, after all, so conflict was unavoidable at some point—but it didn't mean they had to be cruel, or even particularly ruthless. There could be room for mercy, sometimes.

_'I hope you're right, but we both know there are times when there is no way to do something but the wrong way. Some things just can't be undone without forcing the point,'_ Hinata thought, rubbing her cheek against the taller girl's side. "Thanks."

* * *

"He wants me to what?" Hinata asked, glancing between the much taller branch house Hyuuga and her brunette companion. They had been intercepted on the steps of Naruto's apartment building, on the way to breakfast and then the sub-basement of the Hokage Tower where the offices of Torture and Interrogation waited.

"Your father wishes to meet with you in private, in his office, about a matter concerning the chuunin exam," the Branch Hyuuga repeated. "I was asked to accompany you there."

Hinata nearly blinked. "'Asked?'" she repeated, getting a slow nod. Her father, or anyone of the main house aside from herself, never asked those of the branch house for anything—they commanded and expected those orders to be obeyed, under pain of seal. After a moment, she asked, "If I asked if you had gotten lost along the way?"

The older ninja smiled slightly. "I could very well have gotten lost along the way, and with the offices of Torture and Interrogation in lock-down except to those with clearance, I would be forced to report my failure to pass along your father's message."

Smiling, Hinata nodded. "Haku-chan, I'll send a clone along to T&I and catch up with you later."

"Are you sure—?" the taller girl asked, knowing very well that walking into that lion's den could end in the shorter girl sealed by the end of the day.

"If not tonight, then in the morning," Hinata nodded, meaning she could always turn back a day if things went sideways. "See you soon."

"Good luck," Haku murmured, even as a second Hinata appeared by her side and took her hand, to begin dragging her off to find breakfast for one as the clone wouldn't be eating.

Turning towards the Hyuuga clan compound, Hinata began to turn over the issue of what her father could possibly want. He had ignored her for months, and then after just a month of spending her days training with Anko to beat Neji, he had suddenly taken an interest—or at least in testing her against her little sister. She had ignored him then, and he had done likewise after—until now. The timing was odd, to say the least. With the Hokage dead, Jiraiya out of town and Naruto with him, Anko still recovering from her fight with Baki and in no condition to fight even if she was apparently fit enough to take out Kurenai, Ibiki occupied with prisoners to interrogate, and Haku excluded by virtue of this meeting being private that left Hinata all on her lonesome and without any potential heavy-hitters to dissuade someone from taking advantage of the situation—in fact, Hinata would go so far as to say the timing was less odd or coincidental and more deliberate.

If it was a trap, then she would be on her own. The only thing putting doubt to the idea that it was a trap was the fact that, knowing she could be isolated, her father had not simply sent a squad to capture and seal her on the spot if that was his intent. Perhaps he hadn't wanted to make it a public affair? Or perhaps this was less about her and more about Neji—who she reminded herself she needed to see to soon, if only to attempt to make amends... and watch him suffer mending broken bones without the benefit of pain-killers. Given the war, her cousin was too great a potential ally to simply toss aside—much how she had decided it better to attempt to befriend Sakura as opposed to simply ignoring the girl. Better a useful ally than a liability.

Sighing as she shook the thought from her head, realizing she was beginning to sound too much like her father, she realized they had come to the threshold of the clan compound. Staring up at the large, iron-wrought gates set in a two-meter high brick wall that surrounded the compound, she was again reminded of its likeness more to a prison than a home. _'I could always tear them down,'_ she mused, allowing an amused smile to creep across her lips at the thought of somehow wresting control of the clan away from its elders and having the walls torn down, leaving the grounds open to the public—there were several gardens and glades that had not been seen by the general public since shortly after Konoha's founding, as they had been behind that wall for years and years. _'One day, it's all going to change—if I have to do it myself.'_

Her father's study was much as she remembered it, though it felt like years since she'd last seen the inside of it. The desk was a large, hand-carved masterwork of oak and cleanly divided the room in two. The chairs on one side were high-backed, straight, and as uncomfortable as they were beautiful while the chair opposite the desk looked more akin to a throne when it sat empty. Hinata nearly smirked at the petty attempt at both intimidation and imitation—the room was clearly furnished to resemble the Hokage's own office now that she had actually seen that particular room, save that the furnishings were both more grandiose and severe. It was clear now where the man's true desires lie—seated in the highest room of the tallest tower of Konoha, her father was a man who aspired to be if not a king, then Hokage. It would never come to pass. While he was a good ninja, he was far from the best. Besides which, the man was cold and harsh—everything the rumors of their clan made them out to be. He would never sit in the Hokage's seat—she suspected he knew this, which would explain the throne.

Hinata was drawn from her observations and thoughts by the sound of a throat clearing, instinctively drawing her eyes up to meet those of the man who could have been her father, if only he'd tried. She wondered if he was surprised that instead of flinching, blushing, and/or turning her gaze away as she would have in years past she simply smiled—small, but one that would have likely drawn a whimper from her Inuzuka teammate. If he was, he showed no sign of it as he gestured her to be seated. Shrugging, she perched on one of the uncomfortable chairs, shifting into a relaxed position that would leave her free to move quickly should there be a need.

"Hyuuga-san," she greeted the man cordially enough—though, it was more the greeting reserved for strangers of somewhat equal standing, as opposed to her usual greeting of 'father,' or more often than not, the more respectful form of 'otou-sama.' As far as opening moves went, it was a verbal gloved slap in the face and would let him know the tone she intended to set for the entire meeting—that she had come to the realization that he had lost the right to be addressed as her father, as he would have had to actually _act_like one to earn that title back. She was surprised when, instead of irritation, she saw a minute twitch at the corners of his lips and eyes—what may as well have been a full-fledged flinch on anyone else.

"Hinata," Hiashi tried, his voice sounding weary and strained to the girl—showing the signs he refused to allow the rest of his body to. The silence was awkward and long—his carefully prepared speech having turned to ash in his mind. Finally, he released a quiet breath that almost passed for a sigh. "You passed."

He was stating the obvious and she resisted the urge to allow the smile to slip into eat-you-alive territory—apparently, he was flustered. 'Verbally constipated,' as Kurenai had once called it, and he looked the part too. He obviously wanted to say something, but it either went against his nature to say it or it would cost his pride dearly to do so. It was the most amused Hinata had felt around the man since before her mother had passed away. Enjoying his discomfort entirely too much, she replied with a simple, "Yes."

Realizing the girl wasn't going to offer him an easy out, Hiashi did sigh this time. With great difficulty, he swallowed his pride. Pride was a funny thing—she had surprised him in the exam and he had found himself proud to call her his daughter, however, his pride as head of the Hyuuga clan ached like any wound he'd ever had at having to admit he had been wrong about her when he had essentially given up on Hinata to focus on training Hanabi to become the next clan head. He recalled that harsh words had been spoken that day to the chuunin who had taken her to the academy—the woman who had become the girl's jonin-sensei. "You did well."

_'Oh, when I tell Anko and Kurenai about this,'_ she mused, fighting hard to keep from laughing aloud. _'That must have hurt—but it doesn't look like he's finished. If anything, it looks like whatever else he has to say is going to be big.' _Grinning internally, she shrugged externally. "I had an excellent sensei—one whose teaching method does not involve beating the pupil until the lesson is absorbed," she sniped, though in all honesty, Anko wasn't particularly gentle either when it came time to learn some things—but she had at least been nice about it.

"Yes," Hiashi murmured, sidestepping that accusation to ask the question he had brought her here for. "Who was it that taught you that technique?"

Hinata hummed, studying the man as he in turn studied her. She had no idea which technique he was asking about, but she wasn't feeling particularly forthcoming even if she had known. "Which technique, exactly? I used several during the initial phases of the exam, including the preliminary elimination matches, and more still during the third phase of the exam itself."

"You _know _which technique," Hiashi all but growled, earlier reticence forgotten in the wake of her playing coy. He was not accustomed to being denied, after all.

"This one?" Hinata asked as a short-sword dropped into her hand out of thin air—no sign of where it had come from or how it had been created. Really, it was just a derivative of shuriken shadow clone, which was itself a derivative of the standard shadow clone technique—she had simply figured out how to skip the intermediary step of having a physical object to copy and instead drew on the user's ability to visualize what he or she wanted to create. She had beaten Naruto to the technique, but she guessed he would have it figured out by the time she saw him again—after all, it was his idea to begin with. Creating things without seals though, that was done the same way she'd been creating clones as of late—projecting a few chakra strings where she wanted them and then twisting them into something resembling a jutsu.

"No," he deadpanned, unamused as she toyed with the weapon in question—reminding him entirely too much of a certain irritating, trench-coat clad woman. Deciding to force her to answer, he clarified his request, "Where did you learn of the Sakura Grove?"

Blinking, the girl looked up from her conjured blade before letting it dissolve into its component energy and reabsorbing it—waste not, want not. "Is that what it's called?" she wondered quietly, turning the technique in question over in her mind—there was only one that she could think of that would draw that sort of attention, that being the wide-area anti-clone technique she'd used against her blond lover that was the simplest method she had for delivering a ranged jyuuken strike. She had been of a mind to name it along the lines of something celestially-related, seeing as to her eyes, it looked like a field of stars.

The name, however, implied that not only had the technique been used before and wasn't simply something she'd created on the spur of the moment out of necessity but told her what it had likely looked like—but more importantly, that _Hyuuga _saw it in that form. An illusion over top of the technique could easily make it look like a sakura grove shedding petals like snow, but to a Hyuuga whose eyes could see through illusions like everyone else looked into a stream and saw the bottom beneath it, the technique would still look like a field of stars overlaid with an illusion of cherry blossoms. To create an illusion the byakugan could not see through would require...

Hinata blinked again, her small smile falling. _'It must have been originally created by a Hyuuga. Much like how one must possess a sharingan to create Tsukiyomi, one would need a byakugan to craft an illusion impenetrable to a byakugan. However, if a Hyuuga _did _create the Sakura Grove, why didn't he or she pass it on—at least to their descendants if not the entire clan? Surely if they knew it, nothing would stop at least the main branch from using it continuously. It's too useful not to.' _Once the thought had registered, the answer became just as apparent, given her father's impatient, almost anxious look—whoever had created the technique had either sealed it away or taken it to the grave with them. And here she was, Hyuuga Hinata, having resurrected what she suspected was only the first third of a dead technique by accident in a game of oneupmanship between herself and Konoha's own demon vessel, using a foreign ninja's technique as a starting point—if they knew its origins, the Hyuuga Elder Council would be displeased. Honestly, it wasn't all that surprising—things like this had been lost or forgotten over the ages before, only to be rediscovered at a later date. It was more amusing that it was her to do it, as opposed to say Neji or Hanabi—being the next best thing to cast out of the clan itself without being sealed.

The technique itself had to be composed of multiple stages—the first stage simply producing points of chakra on something akin to a chakra string. The second stage would have to be the illusion that could defy even the byakugan's ability to see through it. Those two alone were useful—it stood to reason that if one could match chakra points to sakura petals, then one could just as easily hide chakra points while creating petals not linked to points, meaning their eyes could not discern where the real danger lie. By itself, the first stage could disable—even kill—ninja who were unprepared for it, but it was not unbeatable. Someone like Lee, perhaps Kiba or more likely Hana, or even Naruto could blow through it with enough speed if they were willing to sacrifice external chakra expression and risk a potential one-hit-kill head-shot to land a decisive blow. With a high-level genjutsu backing it up, stage two would be difficult to beat at best—one could never truly know just where the technique's potential weak points were, of which there were _few_to begin with, when it could all be disguised with an eye-catching illusion designed to draw the eye away from the real threat in much the same way red flags were occasionally tied to the end of a pole-arm or at the guard of a sword. Stage three therefore had to be something that shifted the technique from mostly-defensive and potentially lethal as a ranged assassination technique to offensive and outright lethal, and about as inviting to walk into as a burning building.

Once more, the girl blinked as her smile returned, and with it the realization of what could make the technique deadly. A clone had already suggested something similar, after all—using the chakra string part of the technique to create a flesh-rending water-and-fire-based technique. The next step up from that would be to work with pure elementally-attuned chakra—each individual point of light would become a point of fire, or lightning, or cutting wind. Neither earth nor water attuned chakra sounded particularly feasible for an attack that small, needing to gather mass from those elements in order to do damage—however, perhaps it wouldn't take but a tiny amount of mass to do damage. It was something to look into. But the others, however... Lightning, for instance, could be used to stop someone's heart, or render someone unconscious, or even just disable someone by locking their muscles in place while she stepped into close range with a blade.

The beauty of such a technique, however, was in the fact that the chakra didn't have to be elementally attuned before use. Attuned to a certain element, the chakra points would simply do their thing as soon as they made contact with the body—and while dangerous, it wasn't _quite _deadly in small doses. Pure chakra, as she used it at the moment, could pass into and through a body before doing what she wanted—which also meant that once they were inside the body, those chakra points could be attuned to a specific element to cause devastating internal damage on anywhere from a minuscule to massive scale. Lightning could stop a heart, but a tiny burst of wind could sever arteries or cause aneurysms for a completely untraceable death that looked like natural causes. If she wanted to be obvious about it, she could always phase a chakra point into someone's head and convert it to fire, reducing their brain to ash. It was a scary thought, in all honesty—and likely why the technique's original creator had not passed it on.

Hiashi was, by this time, very annoyed that his daughter had taken so long in answering the question. "Well—?" he began, only for the girl to look up and focus her eyes on his—and this time, he did flinch. The intensity he saw there, in that moment, was downright terrifying—something he had never seen from the formerly meek girl. It _wasn't_an unfamiliar look, however—he had seen it quite frequently at one point in his life, in fact. Specifically, during the last great ninja war. It was a look many ninja—himself included—had returned home with. There was no killing intent in that look—none of the concentrated psychic malice ninja could project into the world around them with chakra—only certainty. Today, the sun would set in the west and tomorrow it would rise again in the east, and some time between Hyuuga Hiashi would just as surely die. And then it was gone, almost as though it had never been there in the first place and he had only imagined it. Except he knew he had not.

Hinata had somehow realized some of what it was she had found or been taught, and now she intended to put it to use. _That_ was why it was terrifying—the clan had cast her aside, and now that they were perhaps willing to take her back, Hiashi had just learned the hard way that _she_ had cast _them _aside. There would be no convincing her to share the secrets of the Sakura Grove—she would die first, or they would die trying to take it from her. After all, it was a technique that the Hyuuga had no counter to. One could not strike a point of chakra that could move faster than the arms and hands, and even if one could then not even their own infamous sixty-four palms technique could intercept a thousand points of light. One could not turn aside those same points when they could slip right through the wall that was the kaiten. Nor could one stay ever vigilant—they must all sleep some time, and the technique could pass through walls as easily as it did air. Nowhere would be safe. Even the Uchiha, with the many miracles granted them by the sharingan, had feared the Sakura Grove for a time—Hiashi had been surprised to learn that it was the Hyuuga themselves who had assassinated the technique's creator and not an Uchiha agent. It had been the Hiraishin of its day—and much like Yondaime's legendary technique, it was as coveted as it was feared. Unlike Hiraishin's infamy inciting a flee-on-sight order for Yondaime or the Uchiha's own techniques drawing many a would-be kidnapper to their doors, to his knowledge no one who walked into the Sakura Grove had come out again—there were no witnesses left alive outside of Konoha's own forces.

"I didn't realize it was incomplete," the girl admitted, smoothing her face back into that small, amused smile. "Who created it, originally?"

There was no point in denying it as the information couldn't be used against them—or so he thought. Hiashi had no way of knowing that his next words would have dire consequences for the clan and beyond the walls of Konoha—well, for some of the clan more-so than others. "Hina." Seeing her frown, he clarified, "Your great-grandmother."

The girl's thought processes ground to a halt momentarily before picking up again at a pace that would have frightened anyone not in the know. "On my mother's side?" she asked, getting a nod. Closing her eyes, she thought back to her childhood. She had never known her grandmother on her mother's side, let alone her great-grandmother, in fact she had barely known her own mother—who had died around the age of twenty-five. Slowly, just to be sure, she asked, "How old was mother when she died?"

"Twenty-five," Hiashi murmured, gaining a nod for the answer.

"And grandmother?" she asked—while her father's own parents were dead, she at least vaguely recalled them being alive when she was a child. Her mother's mother, however...

Hiashi frowned as he answered, "About the same age."

"And Hina-baa?" Now she knew where she'd heard the name before—her mother had used that particular title for the woman, even though she had never known her herself. She was Hinata's namesake, after all.

"Nearly the same," Hiashi admitted.

Sighing, the girl nodded before asking what was on her mind. "So, the clan council wanted this Sakura Grove so badly they poisoned my mother when she wouldn't—or more likely couldn't—give it to them. And her mother before her, and her mother before her. Am I right?" she asked, opening her eyes again to study her father's face—which seemed to have aged ten years before her eyes and had gone somewhat pale. His silence was answer enough, though, and she nodded again. "And you. You just let them?"

"I did _not_—" Hiashi hissed, clenching his fists and stilling himself. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly before continuing as calmly as possible. "I did not simply let them do anything. I agreed to allow them to question Hikari—your mother—about the technique. When she admitted she knew nothing about it, I was convinced and it seemed as though the council was as well. I did not realize anything was amiss until it was too late. Every medic and doctor we visited declared that it was an unknown, incurable degenerative condition. I had no reason to suspect—"

"You're an idiot."

Instead of reacting with anger, Hinata was surprised to see her father simply nod in acceptance. "Perhaps," he admitted. "By the time I knew anything, it was all late—and forcing the issue would have endangered both you and your sister. I know I have not been the best father, but I _have _always tried to shelter you both from the worst of our clan."

Shaking her head, the girl made her decision. "This clan is sick, cancerous—rotting from the inside out." When he did not deny it, she continued. "Do you know what medics call it, when you cut away a gangrenous limb to save the rest of the body? Triage." She tried to convince herself that's what it would be—a necessary operation to remove a diseased part of the body poisoning the whole, that boiled down to murder writ large.

Hiashi actually chuckled. "I admit, I have thought the same a time or two myself. The problem lies with the clan elders—rooted as they are in their ways, they are resistant to change and believe they know best. I have tried, so many times, to change their minds—the Caged Bird seal, for instance. But no, they refuse to bend. Unfortunately, for all their age they are still canny and powerful. Assaulting them head on would be suicidal at best."

Hiashi was surprised when the girl shook her head. "If they want it so bad, fine." What she did not say was that he was also part of the problem and would have to be cut away like the others—she would just have to do it before any of them could truly cause problems. The best way to heal her mother may be to ensure she simply never got sick in the first place. Even if she did not have the full technique at the moment, she had others to fall back on—and she had literally all the time in the world to complete it. By the time she went back, she would be sure to have the full technique in a usable form. "Can you assemble the council on short notice?"

"They have already assembled," he admitted, glancing at his clock. "I asked for an hour to speak with you privately before bringing you before them."

The girl snorted. "Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

Uzuki Yuugao was not a happy woman. The past month had been hard on her, to say the least. It began with the death of her long-time boyfriend, Hayate. The man was an unparalleled artist with a sword—the greatest kenjutsu specialist Konoha had had in her ranks in years. He had suffered a chronic cough and both pneumonia and asthma-like symptoms for years—the result of a poison attack made some years ago that had wiped out his team—which left him often short of breath and physically weak. Even still, he had been a master swordsman—increasing his skill to the point where he could compensate for his deteriorating health and physique. He had been one of Konoha's very first casualties of the three-way war between them, Sand, and Sound—killed by a jonin-sensei for one of the Sand teams taking the exam, according to evidence found on-site and a confession from one of the three captured Suna genin being held by Torture and Interrogation.

As it turned out, Yuugao had a vindictive streak that not even ANBU had been able to break her of. Even now, she wanted to impale the bastard on her own blade so bad she could almost taste it. That was not to be, however, considering he was all the way in Suna and she was stuck in Konoha on what amounted to guard duty. While normal jonin had been sent on emergency missions to help raise funds and increase Konoha's visible presence so as to dissuade a follow-up attack by one of the other villages, ANBU had been recalled and put in rotating shifts scanning from the walls inward for anything amiss.

She had settled for the next best thing to revenge—a retelling of the fight between Anko and Baki from the woman's own mouth, over drinks. The special-jonin had done her a bit of a favor in having at least wounded the man without even having known that he was the one who had killed her boyfriend. Of course, Anko tended to get chatty when she drank with someone she liked and she hadn't _only _talked about her fight with Baki and how she was pretty sure he would never reproduce now—which, now that Yuugao thought about it, was more of a blow than simply killing the man as she had killed any potential line he was likely to have. It was what Anko had talked about that drew the swordswoman's attention—Anko's little Hyuuga protege, who was so unlike the rest of her clan and the special jonin had grown attached to over the past couple of months. The girl devoted herself fully to anything anyone was willing to teach her—much like a certain blond the special-jonin also seemed fond of—and absorbed material like a sponge. She owed Anko a favor, and Yuugao always paid her debts.

As she strode into the Hyuuga complex, she smirked beneath her ANBU mask as the guards at the gate hesitated—unsure whether to stop her or let her pass. After all, one did not interfere with ANBU business lightly—they were typically under the direct command of the Hokage himself and to defy an operative of ANBU was to defy the will of their leader. Of course, their Hokage being dead, the chain of command was a bit muddled until someone settled the issue. What was perfectly clear was that ANBU's authority superseded the clans' own in matters of village security or matters pertaining to ANBU operations; in other words, Yuugao had a blanket pass to walk in, acquire her target, and leave unmolested—unless, of course, someone attempted to interfere in the execution of her duties, in which case she was authorized to use any and all force necessary to conclude her mission. Unfortunately for them, Yuugao was not a happy woman and was _itching _for an excuse, any excuse, to use force.

Approaching the council room, where she had learned her target would be, she paused as she heard voices through the shoji doors.

"But I am of no use to the clan, remember? It would be no loss if I simply died on a mission. Nothing I have could possibly be worth anything to the Hyuuga," a girl's voice sounded, confirming Yuugao's suspicions that the girl in question had been called before the entire Hyuuga's council of elders.

"Don't play coy, girl. Tell us where you learned of the Sakura Grove."

The jonin frowned beneath her mask at that voice. It wasn't one she recognized, but she'd heard plenty like it in her life. Old, cocksure, set in their ways... Whatever this 'Sakura Grove' was, they wanted it—and badly. Her hand was almost on the door to open it and interrupt when the girl, Hinata, spoke again—and Yuugao could hear the smile in her voice this time. "No." There was some spluttering as those gathered began to protest, but she continued. "It isn't mine to give, and even if it were, I wouldn't. You've killed three generations of my family to have it—there won't be a fourth." There was a pause, then the sound of movement, which quickly halted. "Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the girl's voice, while teasing, was also warning. There had been a surge of chakra behind the door and Yuugao could only assume the technique in question was now in use.

"I'm sure you have some idea what this is, but in case you don't, I'll go ahead and tell you. _This_ is a chakra storage seal. Contained within it is about a month's worth of my own chakra. That would be bad enough by itself, but you see, it also holds nearly every bit of the chakra Naruto-kun used to create not even he knows how many clones during our match in the exam. I don't think even I properly grasp just how much chakra that is, but let's just assume it's more than everyone in this room has, combined. Now, attached to _that _seal is this one—which is, at its core, an explosive seal." There was a strangled, choking noise from more than one throat.

"That's right, I've intentionally sealed myself with an explosive seal that contains enough power to level this building and the surrounding grounds and not even leave a crater behind to mark your passing. Now, here's the thing—you may be thinking that I would never set off such a seal myself, as I obviously wouldn't want to die. You would be wrong. I would do it out of simple _spite_. However, that isn't the important bit—no, that would be _this._ It's a series of conditional triggers. You've got to love Jiraiya—the old man's the biggest pervert in the Elemental Nations, but he's a _grand_master when it comes to seal work. You see, these seals here are designed to monitor several things—my heart rate, temperature, stress levels, blood toxicity, even determine whether I've been somehow placed under a genjutsu or not. If any of those changes, stops, or otherwise then they set off the explosive seal. Meaning you can't harm me without destroying the entire clan along with me."

Yuugao's eyes had gone wide as she did the mental math. A seal with a payload of that size would level not just the Hyuuga compound but a quarter of the village with it! It only took a minuscule amount to power the things to begin with—somewhere to the tune of a single, A-ranked fire jutsu. That Hinata had used the Kyuubi's living prison to fuel the thing was not lost on Yuugao, either. It was both brilliant and scary—no one who knew about it would dare do anything to set that seal off. It had to be a bluff—there was no way, _no way_, anyone who had passed Ibiki's psychological evaluations and had been hired on with Torture and Interrogation would actually activate such a seal. That meant, in all likelihood, if it was as dangerous as she claimed then it could only be on a manual activation trigger—a last parting gift to anyone who actually managed to strike a fatal blow that left her cognizant enough to set it off.

Another voice, this one female but much older than Hinata, brought Yuugao out of her thoughts. "L-leave us."

There was a hum. "No, I think not," the girl denied. "In fact, while I've got you here—a captive audience, as it were—I have a few questions I'd like answered." She paused long enough to see if anyone dared deny her now—they did not. "Who here arranged to have my mother killed?" There were quiet murmurs, but no one confessed for over a full minute before the girl continued. "I know it was one of you—just as you killed my grandmother, and her mother before her; all of it to get your hands on some damn technique. You will tell me who did it and then you will tell me _how _it was done."

"I did it."

"Oh? Your name?" Apparently, there were some people within the clan even the former heir didn't recognize on sight.

The disdain was audible even to Yuugao. "Hyuuga Hiroto. As to why it was done—your line has _always_ been... problematic. It was your ancestors who insisted we remain faithful to the healing arts, instead of branching out into more useful schools—look where that got them. It was your great grandmother who insisted on returning to the healing arts, when we were in the midst of the second great war—it would have brought shame to the entire clan. When her request was denied, _Hina_ created the Sakura Grove out of spite for this family and the work put into creating jyuuken from the ground up to take advantage of the byakugan in hand-to-hand combat where we belong. So we poisoned her, once her daughter reached a malleable age at which we assumed Hina had passed along the technique. Unfortunately, her daughter claimed her mother had taken her secrets to the grave. Knowing Hina had passed the technique on and her daughter was being stubborn, we repeated the cycle—and now, here you are. However incomplete it is, it is still the Sakura Grove, and we _will _have it."

"What poison did you use?" Hinata asked, seemingly ignoring most everything else the man had said. When he answered, she hummed again. "I see. Nearly undetectable, and even if you do figure out that's what was used, it's nearly untreatable and you waste time treating symptoms instead of the cause, until the victim dies an excruciating, _lingering _death." Yuugao did not fail to note the partially concealed pain in the girl's voice, nor the tightly-controlled anger with it.

While it was uncommon and ridiculously hard to make, the poison in question was not impossible to procure—ANBU had a sample or two on hand in one of the labs, for use and study by anyone interested in learning how to use poisons. It was not as incurable as Hinata seemed to think, however—unlike whatever had been used on Hayate, it _could_be cured if one caught it early enough, before it could do permanent damage. Yuugao again went for the door, but held back when Hinata spoke again.

"Show me how to create and use the Caged Bird seal, and how to remove it."

"No!" multiple voices yelled—apparently, that seal was more important to them than whatever it was Hinata had. Yuugao was unsurprised—the seal in question made three-quarters of the clan's population slaves to the rest and they would be loathe to give up the lives to which they had grown accustomed.

Hinata sighed quietly. "Do we really have to go through this again? It would be physically impossible for you to cover the minimum safe distance in time without space-time jutsu. Show me now or we all die." There was a tiny, brief flare of chakra from the other side of the door before Hinata's voice returned in stereo—one of her in the position she'd occupied this whole time, the other further away and likely standing right in front of one of the elders. "Demonstrate how the seal is created by sealing Hiroto here, then test it so I know it works. Then show me how to remove it."

Yuugao was surprised and a little impressed when the girl's own father volunteered to be the one to seal Hiroto—Hiashi apparently taking more than a little pleasure in testing that seal to his daughter's satisfaction on the man who had admitted to orchestrating his wife's murder. It was an odd bit of father-daughter bonding in a family she could clearly see was broken almost beyond repair. Yuugao was equally unsurprised when no one volunteered to demonstrate its removal until, after a much larger chakra release, even more copies of Hinata repeated her demand.

Cracking the door open a few centimeters, Yuugao peeked inside. There, in the center of the room, stood what she assumed to be the original Hinata. Behind each of the Hyuuga elders stood a copy of the girl, each armed with a pair of kunai but apparently awaiting some signal from their creator. The clones could be dispersed, easily, but that wasn't what was staying the elders hands and rooting them in place; it could have been the threat of the girl's explosive seal hanging over their heads, but Yuugao suspected it had more to do with the hundreds of tiny points of light—which she could identify as chakra—floating ominously around them, many congregating at eye and heart level with each elder. Even if she missed the first dozen times, there was enough chakra visible to Yuugao's naked eye to pulp whatever organs they hit. When there were still no volunteers, Hinata sighed and lights streaked in on the five elders gathered faster than Yuugao's eye could track, catching them in the knees and thighs. They were all brought down to kneel, where Hiashi began to go down the line painting that cursed slave-seal on. When he was finished, the girl spoke again.

"This is your last warning—after this, I start demonstrating why Ibiki is a master interrogator and I am but a novice. I have neither the tools nor the time for a proper interrogation, so I'll have to improvise with what we have on hand. Tell me how to remove the seal, or my clones will start gouging out eyes. After that, I'm going to activate the seals. One of you, likely Hiroto-san, is going to die screaming as an example to the others." Again, there were no volunteers. Shaking her head, the girl grinned—and though Yuugao could not see it, it must have been a sight to behold judging by the flinches. "Fine. I guess you just need to learn that _I don't bluff_."

Shortly after the screaming began, Hinata had her Caged Bird Seal removal technique.

* * *

"You handled yourself well," the cat-masked ANBU complimented on the way to where ever it was she was leading them.

Hinata shrugged, a small frown tugging at her lips. "Well, what they don't know won't hurt me." On the woman's curious hum, she tapped at a spot under her left breast. "Secondary chakra storage seal. The other _is_connected to the explosive seal, but it won't go up unless I manually activate it. This one is the one linked to all the triggers, and it's only got about double what a standard explosive tag uses—enough to make my death quick and painless, and maybe take one or two of them out with me if they're close enough in the event I'm captured. I've seen Ibiki's ugly mug one too many times to want to live through that."

"Then you were bluffing?" Neko asked to confirm her guess, drawing a curious look from the girl.

After a moment, Hinata shook her suspicion off and asked, "How long were you out there, waiting?" There was no way she could know, after all—that time-line was nothing but a bad memory any more.

"Since just before you began your explanation about the seals."

"I see," she murmured. "I would have figured something else out, if the threat of blowing them all sky high didn't work—but now, they know that sending a team in the middle of the night to attempt to seal me isn't going to work. The moment any foreign seal settles on my skin, the smaller seal will go off."

For Hinata's part, she was left turning over Haku's words in her mind—the older girl had been right. At some point, she would be forced to use the power she had to do unpleasant but necessary things—she was simply surprised it had taken so long. Urumeshi was unpleasant but also unnecessary—the Hyuuga on the other hand... The question was, was freeing the Hyuuga clan of their collective insanity really worth the blood already on her hands and the blood yet to be shed?

There was no way the elders would give up their power without a fight, and regardless of the threat she'd made to simply demonstrate the technique they wanted so desperately and kill them all with it, it was too risky. Ibiki had proven that—she would need to become a better, smarter class of killer if she wanted to get away with it. Part of that meant immediate resets after situations such as the one with her clan—do what needed to be done to get what she needed and then reset to the morning of the event or earlier. There was no evidence left behind of her crimes, save bad memories and a sick feeling of remorse that wouldn't quite go away. She supposed, if she could still feel remorse even for them, even when she had unmade the event and they were all whole and unharmed save for some bruising to their pride, then she still had a conscience. If she ever stop feeling like this, she knew she truly would need someone else to be her conscience for her.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**Hinata is not quite yet a cold-blooded killer. She talks a big game, but has not yet come to the point where she can live with carrying through on such threats without regret. Then again, no one has truly pushed her to something truly drastic, yet.

The Hyuuga: they forced the issue and Hinata had three choices for dealing with the meeting itself: reset and deal with it another day, walk in all meek and humble and potentially get herself sealed, or lay most of her cards on the table and walk away untouchable in their eyes for fear of explosions (on the second time through). The first run through, she saw an opportunity and went for it (alone with the elders, no backup in the form of ANBU or other Hyuuga coming to stop her any time soon [which is why she went with the quick-and-dirty method of disfiguration, knowing the guards would summon backup of some form soon]), then reset immediately after and played things out mostly the same and simply walked away after getting an answer to her mother's murder from their own lips for her father. Then she met Yuugao and found out someone outside of the clan had heard most of that—and realized she'd been present but hadn't done anything the first time through. For the record, she never activated her dojutsu—she had no need to considering she was covering most of the room with the technique and it was plainly visible at that point—which is why she was unaware of Yuugao in the first place. Oversight on her part and a gentle warning that she can still be snuck up on by a more skilled ninja without her expanded sight active. As for the seal, she would see using the larger chakra seal for an explosion as a waste of valuable resources.

The Sakura Grove: unbeatable super-technique? No. A very good technique? Yes. It has limits. Well. The original had limits. With clones and someone else's (Naruto's) chakra fueling it, those limits are fewer and further between, but still there. No, she won't be spanking Itachi with it (any time soon, or at all for various reasons, first and foremost among them being: Ameterasu burns all in this corner of the universe, even the metaphysical and even pure energy constructs).

Temari: as stated, originally Hinata didn't think she'd accept. When she did, it became more of a matter of honor at that point—she promised someone protection and now feels obligated to provide. That, and she's now curious to see what Temari will do now that she's free of her village, her brother's insanity, and has an open invitation.

On harems: as it stands, it's only Naru/Hina/Haku at the moment, with a spot open for Temari if she wants to follow through and a perpetual place for Anko to wander in and out of. It would amuse me greatly to have Hinata break Ino and Sakura of their Uchiha fangirlism by slowly turning them to the wonders of yuri—amusing enough that at this point, I think it's set in stone.

On bloodlines: my thinking is, things like the byakugan and sharingan have to activate shortly after they learn to draw chakra but while they're young enough to train to use it so it will be useful during their academy years. Itachi forced Sasuke's sharingan open at seven. Itachi's own had to have been active around the same age, given his amazingly fast rise through the ranks. For Neji to know as much as he does, his own byakugan has to have activated (in canon) sometime in early childhood. Haku's kicked in at what, seven? Eight? I just put a definite age to begin trying to activate them on it. With a technique that sees through clothes as easily as walls, modesty and ignorance of the human body and human interactions would be both a rarity and a luxury. I'll say Neji took a pragmatic view of it: he's seen plenty of things he probably wasn't supposed to, but he keeps his mouth shut. Hinata, on the other hand, has Anko as a role model now—and while (my) Anko is not exactly promiscuous, she's not celibate in the least. The woman enjoys sex (with women, given the hangups I've given her and had Ibiki point out) and sees it as a tool and a weapon.

Self-tests: Hinata is aware she is surrounded by temptation, do not be surprised to see her do similar in the future. Urumeshi was a test she failed in the heat of the moment. Temari is a test she has no reason to fail. The Hyuuga are a test she _is always meant to fail_—there is no right answer where they are concerned. It's only a matter of how badly she fails and in what ways. There is no peaceful solution where everyone lives and learns from their mistakes and forgives everyone else and in the end everyone goes home friends—not even Naruto could pull that off. Half the clan must die for the other half to live freely, or she has to walk away and abandon them all and either disappear, fake her own death, or scare them so badly they will never dare retaliate as in the case of her own seal. The only thing she can do is minimize the damage and control the fallout.

Hiashi: he's the clan head, but he's just one man. Human and fallible as everyone else—more-so, really. I don't know if I've put this in an author's note before, but I've come to see Hiashi as a cross between a stoic Tendo Soun and Gendo Ikari. As for the clan—his reasoning is that even if he had hard evidence, in all likelihood, the elders would've simply had him killed too.

Sakura: wow. Back-story besides her being an obsessive-compulsive fangirl. Sure, she's a misguided, manipulative bitch but she at least feels bad about it.

Ibiki: I confused myself for a bit, trying to imagine the man's 'I know you know, I know you know I know, I know you know I know you know and I wanted you to know,' mentality before I gave up and went with something a little simpler.

Yuugao: not a happy woman. (If that made you laugh, you're welcome.)

The abomination: one part graboid, one part gould, one hundred percent ugly. It will not make a reappearance and was more of a gag, but it if a viable demonstration of what uncontrolled release of that stuff can do. Again, I refuse to believe Juugo somehow bleeds liquid sage/natural chakra that allows him to create weaponry more at home in the Guyver universe and I think Kishimoto just changed his mind halfway in. I am perfectly willing to use growing little Orochimaru clones in the seals, however—it's just the sort of disgusting that fits well here.

Next chapter: eighty percent complete. This is the last of the completed works I've had just laying around awaiting editing and posting.

Author's notes: needlessly long. I think I stopped doing these for a reason.


	7. 0600

**The Life and Times**

* * *

_"Nothing to lose. That was my modus operandi for a long time—too long, really. In my hubris, I took for granted that I was untouchable—beyond the reach of mortal man—until someone showed me just how wrong I was. I had _everything _to lose, and so much more and I did not realize it until I was forced to..._ _Holding on to what I so longed for was like trying to grasp water—the harder I tried, the more seemed to slip through my fingers._ _I am ashamed to say that I did not react well to that revelation, nor did I take from it the lesson I should have the first time—it was only right at the end that a very dear friend showed me the error of my ways. Whether it was too late or not, I suppose time will tell."_

* * *

Kankuro flinched as a now-familiar form materialized into being just inside his periphery vision with no warning whatsoever. "Hello, kabuki-boy."

"I have a name, you know," he deadpanned as she circled his cot, grinning. "It's—"

"Prisoner-373," Hinata interrupted, drawing a glare from the redhead. "So, anything new to tell me today, before Ibiki finishes his morning coffee?"

The formerly-kabuki painted boy shuddered briefly at the mention of the man's name. "I've told you everything I know!"

"Really?" the girl asked, doubt clear in her voice.

"Yes," the Suna prisoner sighed.

Surprisingly, Hinata nodded. "I suppose you have, then. It's too bad, really..."

Blinking, Kankuro shot her a flat look. "Let me guess, are we on to prisoner execution now?"

"Nope," she denied. "I was beginning to enjoy these visits."

"_Enjoy_?" the puppeteer twitched, recalling that he had been made a live test subject for more than one demonstration on soft interrogation techniques by Ibiki for the benefit of this very chuunin. Some of those 'soft' techniques were soft only in that they did no lasting damage—they still hurt like hell. Or worse, triggered uncontrollable reflexes and terror—such as waterboarding. After a moment to brush aside his anger, he asked, "If we aren't being executed, why wouldn't you come here? Aside from realizing I _don't know anything_."

"Operational security is a bitch," Hinata shrugged. "We had to be sure. Don't think you were the only one we questioned. Your sister didn't know anything either." Seeing his eyes narrow and feeling a momentary rise in killing intent at the mention of Temari, she smiled—_this_ was how a brother was supposed to act, nothing like Neji. In the few weeks they had been in the care of Torture and Interrogation, Hinata had come to find that the Suna siblings—minus Gaara—had what passed for a relatively _normal_ relationship. They bitched, fought, and sniped at each other on occasion, but if either of them needed help the other would be there—and Kankuro was about ready to cut her lungs out at this point, for Hinata's little stunt with placing an exploding seal on his sister. Putting aside her brief flash of jealousy for what might have been with her own sister and cousin and reminding herself for the hundredth time that things _would_ turn out differently next time, she continued. "Gaara didn't know anything either, but oddly enough, after he woke up the second time he was perfectly willing to talk."

"Woke.. _second_ time?" Kankuro choked. "Why aren't we all dead?"

"ANBU replaced the temporary seal I slapped on your brother with a more permanent solution. He can sleep without fear of Shukaku eating his brain and going on a rampage now. So, congratulations, your little brother's no longer quite so dangerous."

"If I didn't think you'd break my arms, I'd hug you just for that," Kankuro murmured, a small smile crossing his face as _years_ of tension seemed to just evaporate off him. "Still going to kill you for what you did to my sister," he amended cheerfully. Turning his mind back to that short, entirely one-sided battle, he asked, "So, how did you do that anyway?"

"Hm?" she asked before realization set in and she grinned. "I should thank you, you know." Seeing his curious look, she grinned wider as she allowed the first part of the Sakura Grove to expand—tiny motes of light just visible to Kankuro's naked eye, but he was familiar enough with chakra manipulation and chakra strings in particular to get a good idea of what she was doing.

"Those aren't chakra strings," he murmured, sitting up on his cot to study one of the closer motes of light. Around the chakra point, he could just make out a ghostly-transparent shell that faded into invisibility immediately around it. "What the hell did you do?"

"Reverse engineered chakra strings to create a delivery system for a technique designed specifically to shut down kage bunshin with minimal effort and little-to-no wasted energy. As it turns out, chakra strings weren't quite good enough and were actually more visible than what I've got now. So I made what I guess you could call chakra tubes."

"They won't carry much weight unless you overpower them, and since it's a larger construct, it's going to eat a ridiculous amount of chakra if you do," he pointed out, getting a nod. "They don't have to, do they?"

"Nope!" she chirped. "What's more amusing is apparently my clan was so desperate to have this technique, they killed three generations of women in my immediate line to get it—and it was just something I made to counter Naruto-kun. And now, I get to rub it in their faces that they'll never have it and the best part is, it took a foreign ninja to even give me the idea in the first place. So, by proxy, you've managed to piss off the _entire_ Hyuuga clan minus one. Nifty, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm real proud," he deadpanned. "You didn't answer my question."

"Oh! Right, that," she remembered. Motes of light blurred forward and tapped several points across the former-prisoner's body. "Removed the chakra-supression seals," she explained. A moment later, the technique disappeared and the door to his cell opened, a clone stepping in bearing a bundle of clothes—and not just any clothes, but _his_ clothes. "Get dressed. You're going home."

"What?" he asked, though wasted no time grabbing his own clothes. He hesitated only a moment to glance between the girl's clones. _'Well, it's not like she hasn't seen it all already,'_ he mused, giving a mental shrug before pulling off his open-backed gown and beginning to dress. There was no room for modesty in an interrogation, on either side. Luckily, Konoha's own T&I division hadn't tried any of the truly grisly techniques he'd heard of. Rape in and of itself was a common enough interrogation technique—one of the oldest, after all—but given ninja ingenuity, it could be taken to entirely new levels by incorporating jutsu. Setting one's own mind against them with a particularly nasty genjutsu was not only possible but pretty much standard operating procedure for breaking a reluctant prisoner, and no matter how much one tried to convince oneself that it wasn't real and it had all been an illusion it was still almost impossible to believe. Unlike civilians, ninja knew without a doubt that the ability to rape one was not dependent on the rapist's gender—women could do it just as easily, sometimes moreso, as men. Then, of course, there were tales told from before the formation of the villages—of _things_ summoned specifically for the task of weaponizing sex...

As he pulled on his sandals, Hinata sighed quietly before beginning the part she hadn't wanted to talk about. "There is one more thing." Seeing she had his attention, she murmured, "They found your father. Suna sent out several patrols to secure their borders after their retreat and one of them stumbled on your father's body—he'd been dead at least a month, by the look of it. Video of the stadium before the camera feed went dead showed who we assumed to be the Kazekage attack our Hokage. Outside, he must have removed his disguise."

Kankuro frowned, slipping on his gloves but deciding to leave his hood down. "Who?"

"Orochimaru."

"So the invasion, this, the whole thing—it was all for nothing. Just so some bastard from Konoha could try and raze this place to the ground, and we got suckered into it."

Hinata nodded. "Looks that way. Your village has even opened negotiations to make amends." After a moment, she pointed out, "You know our history pretty well."

"Everyone knows about the Sannin," he shrugged, taking note of the path they were taking out of the building. Down the hall from his room, right, down another hall, left, up the stairs two floors, down another hall, through a guard checkpoint which he noted they simply waved Hinata through, up two more flights of stairs. He sighed quietly as he caught sight of the outside world for the first time in what felt like ages. Movement drew his eye to where Temari and Gaara both stood waiting, his sister fretting but standing closer to Gaara than she ever had and Gaara looking less surly than usual. Then he noticed a tiny detail he'd almost overlooked—Temari's hand around Gaara's shoulder, and still attached to her own body. Stranger still, his little brother didn't seem to mind the contact—if anything, Kankuro would almost say he enjoyed it.

"There you are," Temari breathed a sigh of relief as the pair came into range to talk quietly without having the whole floor overhear. "Took you long enough."

Kankuro snorted. "Yeah, well I bet you weren't kept in the high-security wing. I'd have escaped sooner, but this one told me she'd sealed the door to explode if it opened by any method other than the key to discourage me from just picking the lock from the inside." He frowned, turning his eyes on the Hyuuga girl. "Speaking of explosives..."

"I _suppose_ I should remove that, since we're letting you go," Hinata mused, looking over the slightly taller kunoichi. She nearly laughed when Temari went pale at her sudden mischievous smile. Taking the Suna kunoichi's hand, she dragged the blonde off to a nearby supply closet.

Kankuro frowned at the closet before shaking his head. "No, there's no way she would—"

"She would," Gaara interrupted with a certainty Kankuro couldn't explain. Turning to regard his little brother, he saw the boy using his remote spying technique—that is, until he flinched as though stabbed through the eye and sand quickly withdrew from under the door.

Ten minutes later, the door opened and the pair stepped out, Temari straightening her shirt and settling her pants. Kankuro did not fail to notice that one of his sister's four short ponytails had come loose, and that she had a quickly developing bruise that looked suspiciously like a hickie peeking over her collar. Shaking his head, he heaved a disgruntled sigh before asking, "Was that really necessary?"

Surprisingly, Temari nodded. "Yes." Seeing his annoyed gaze fixed on her, she shrugged. "What? She's a good kisser," she defended herself.

"Whatever," Kankuro grumbled. "Can we go home now?"

"Ah, about that," Temari murmured, drawing the eyes of both her brothers. "I'm staying." Seeing they were about to protest, she held up a hand to forestall them. "Orders. I'm to stay and 'help repair diplomatic relations between Suna and Konoha.' Good news is, I'll be getting paid for a long-term A-ranked mission twice over since both Suna and Konoha are paying."

"In other words, you're still a prisoner, just without the little freak's bomb."

"Not a freak," Hinata denied. "And not so much a prisoner as a hostage. Hostages are treated better than prisoners."

"You're okay with this?" Kankuro asked, getting a shrug from Temari.

"I'd like to think that, since word has gotten around about Orochimaru impersonating our father and orchestrating the whole thing by now, my being turned could be overlooked and we would be left alone. Except it's also equally likely that since our family is pretty much responsible for both the war and its failure, things are not going to look good for us in Suna. Gaara's safe, no one's stupid enough to attack him, but us? Not so much."

Gaara's softly-spoken voice at her elbow nearly caused Temari to jump. "Then I will have to convince them that attacking you would be... unwise."

"You do that," she murmured, trying and failing to resist the urge to run her hand through his hair now that she knew she could get away with it without losing the hand in question and the arm attached to it. Surprisingly, the boy didn't seem to mind the contact—though, she supposed she _shouldn't_ really be surprised. As cut off as she and Kankuro had been, Gaara had it so much worse. Even _they_ had been afraid to so much as touch him, for fear of losing limbs if the boy's control or attention slipped. "Who knows, things may ease up and I might be able to visit in a few months to a year. Failing that, you could always come back to Konoha," she suggested, though turned her eyes to Hinata for confirmation, who simply shrugged to let her know that it was obviously not her decision to make.

"We'll come back in a month or so and let you know if it's safe to visit," Kankuro nodded. Unspoken was the promise that they would be coming back to check to make sure she was still unharmed, if not unmolested given the recent display.

Sighing, Temari pushed Gaara's shoulder gently and began to steer him towards the door. "Come on, I'll walk you to the gates."

Kankuro waited until his brother and sister were out of ear-shot before turning his eyes on Hinata. "If she gets hurt," he warned, the threat hanging unspoken between them. He was surprised when she simply smiled—soft and genuine, as opposed to those he'd usually seen that had begun to inspire fear like a conditioned response.

"She'll be fine."

* * *

Anko was amused—a little irritated, but mostly amused. Sometimes, her pseudo-apprentice could ask the dumbest questions—this was one of those times. "Repeat that," she instructed, just to make sure she'd heard right the first time.

"What should I do?" Hinata asked, now suspecting she was being made fun of.

"I thought you had more common sense than that," Anko sighed. "For all your smarts, you're still surprisingly dim." Hinata, it seemed, was _not_ amused—which only made Anko that much _more_ amused. "So, a beautiful woman—she was hot, right?" Hinata nodded. "A beautiful, mysterious, masked woman strolls into your life and invites you to a school for better killers—higher education for ninja, as it were. And you want to know what you should do?" Another nod. "You _say yes_, you little idiot!" Anko yelled, drawing a flinch from the girl.

"But—but what about medic training, and T&I, and Kurenai-sensei, and... you?"

Anko rolled her eyes. "You really are missing the point," she sighed. "How is this going to be any more different than what you're doing now?" Seeing Hinata about to speak, she held up her hand. "_Look_, here's how it works. You'll be given to a captain and put in a group of about four others plus the captain and yourself. If Neko recruited you, you're likely hers for the duration, though she may pass you around if you want training she or those in your group can't provide—it happens. You'll stick mostly with your group for the next three-to-six years, service is mostly voluntary pending psych evaluation—which Ibiki's already done for T&I, so those are on file. If you hadn't passed, you wouldn't have been allowed past the first checkpoint. Once you feel like you've done all you want to in ANBU, put in your notice and quit—it's mostly that simple."

"But isn't ANBU mostly for jonin—?" Hinata asked, only to be cut off by a snort.

"Hardly," Anko denied. "At the upper levels, yeah, but that's because at the lower levels it's like I said—higher education for ninja. The lower levels are a training program for chuunin willing to join, to prepare them for jonin service or special deployment. Most of what you'll be doing will be training, with a few extra-village missions once we've got a new Kage and ANBU are pulled back off village overwatch." Seeing the girl didn't look entirely convinced, she poked the shorter kunoichi in the forehead. "Where are you now? The real you, that is."

"Ano," Hinata hummed for a moment, thinking that over. _'This would be easier if I had a way to communicate between my selves,'_ she mused, resolving to pass the thought along. A moment later, she created and dispersed a clone. A moment after that, she said, "Training field eight, pestering Kurenai."

Anko chuckled briefly at that mental image before she continued. "Right, then just write out a schedule for Neko and give it to her. You've got enough chakra now to put clones where you aren't needed physically—T&I, the hospital, with the combined rookie unit, and if you're bugging Kurenai-chan I'm guessing you've taken an interest in genjutsu?"

"To complete the Sakura Grove," Hinata confirmed, drawing a nod. Both Anko and Kurenai had been alternately amused and worried at Hinata's explanation of her meeting with her family. Anko had been slightly _more_ worried, as she got the unedited version, complete with the _original_ meeting that Neko wasn't aware of.

"Running into any walls, retention-wise?" Anko asked, drawing a slow nod from Hinata. "How's the seal coming?"

"Not fast enough," the girl admitted. "I could _possibly_ begin working on the base parts of the seal now, but I need to bring my medical knowledge up to par with my fuuinjutsu knowledge before I can begin using it to retain memories pulled from my brain. I could, theoretically, just take notes at the moment—audio recordings of myself dictating important things or something if I get desperate. I'm thinking I can just snag a copy of everything as it goes into short-term memory and save that as the detailed version, then have another copy of my long-term memories. That way, if someone somehow tampers with anything in my brain, I've got backups and if I ever need to remember something in minute detail, it'll be there."

Nodding, the special-jonin pointed out, "I'm surprised you're already hitting the limits of basic memory retention techniques."

Hinata blinked, mouth going suddenly dry. "Retention... techniques?" she asked, daring to hope the woman meant what she thought she meant.

Taking one look at her sometimes-pupil, Anko rolled her eyes. "You're an infiltration specialist at heart and you haven't learned those yet? I figured you already _had_ them and were running into the upper limits of what they could do, which is why you were so desperate for that seal. You really are an idiot."

"Please O great and wise sensei, teach this humble idiot!" Hinata begged, her lips twitching into a smile at the corners.

"You forgot 'beautiful,'" Anko sniffed.

"Beautiful, sexy, a living testament to human sexuality—teach me!"

Laughing, Anko ruffled the girl's hair, idly noting that she had either begun to let it grow out or was in need of a haircut if she wanted to keep the shorter style. "Okay, okay, fine. Get up already. If I wanted you on your knees, I'd find a bedroom—or a supply closet." Pulling the girl to her feet, she lead her out of her office and towards the small library Torture and Interrogation kept on hand. It contained nothing vital, obviously—nothing more than diagrams and charts that could be found just as easily in the hospital and a small collection of personal reading material collected over the years, for those on night duty with nothing better to do than read while a prisoner stewed. However, it was the perfect place to impart those techniques—with material readily at hand to test the girl on for demonstration purposes.

* * *

"Choose one and it will be yours."

Two cabinets stood before the Hyuuga girl, one labeled 'Reserve' and the other 'Decommissioned.' Set on a pedestal to the side of them were a pair of scrolls, one labeled 'Available' and the other 'Active.' Picking up the 'Available' scroll, Hinata rolled it partially open and began to read. Smiling, she skimmed its contents, unrolling the scroll as she went. Before long, she had reached the end of the printed area and her smile had slipped. Rolling the scroll back up, she took up the one labeled 'Active' and began to read over its own contents. Partway down, she found 'Neko - Captain, ANBU 9, Jonin,' followed by a labeled identification number that Hinata assumed corresponded to the masked woman's name on another list somewhere. _'Captain of ANBU Squad Nine and a jonin, then,'_ Hinata mused. _'So, where's the one I want?'_

With a glance towards the cabinet labeled 'Decommissioned,' she pointed out her problem. "I don't see what I want on either list."

"Then it was never commissioned or has been decommissioned," Neko pointed out.

Biting her lip for a moment and glancing at the list of available call signs and corresponding masks, Hinata pushed aside her hesitation and asked, "Can one be recommissioned?"

There was a long pause as Neko considered the question before finally, the woman nodded. "Yes."

"May I?" Hinata asked, gesturing towards the cabinet she wanted to peruse. Instead of nodding, the masked woman removed her left glove and drew a kunai. Drawing a thin cut down her hand deep enough to draw blood, she smeared it on the cabinet in question and circulated chakra. The cabinet clicked into the unlocked position and Neko pulled it open, before reaching to put her glove back on. "You're just going to leave that?" Hinata asked, pointing towards the woman's still bleeding palm.

The pause this time was shorter. "Yes."

Rolling her eyes, the Hyuuga girl took the masked woman's hand in her own before healing the cut with a minor application of medical jutsu. "Let me guess. Like Torture and Interrogation, the offices of ANBU are lacking in willing medics?"

"Conflict of oaths."

"Lucky me, I refuse to take those oaths," Hinata deadpanned.

Beneath her mask, Yuugao blinked. "And yet, they still allow you to train?"

Hinata shrugged. "We're short on medics to begin with, I'm a Hyuuga with an active byakugan and the only one willing, and I've got near-perfect chakra control and a boyfriend willing to donate more chakra in a day to my personal storage seal than the entire hospital can gather in a week. Besides, Ibiki likes me and he _scares_ people, and most medics don't have the backbone to tell him 'no' for fear of a surprise vacation in a comfortable room under T&I. Now, where's my mask?"

Neko took up the scroll listing active-duty ANBU and a pen and waited as Hinata perused the cabinet's contents. An 'Ah ha!' from the girl in question announced she'd found what she was looking for—a scroll near the top of the small pile containing the mask in question. 'Kitsune - ANBU 9, Chuunin,' found its way onto the scroll, along with a newly created identification number corresponding to the girl's name in a list somewhere Neko didn't have clearance to access—likely the Hokage's vault. "You realize that mask was retired for a reason?"

Hinata's smile had gone wide and slipped into what Neko knew firsthand to be _dangerous_ territory. "Oh yes," she murmured, unsealing the mask in question. ANBU masks typically came in one of two types—painted into what they were to resemble, but otherwise round and flat or painted and shaped. Neko's mask, for instance, was of the painted-but-flat variety. Wolf's mask, she believed, was shaped—complete with muzzle, ears, and textured fur. Kitsune's mask, however, seemed to be something different—more pointed towards the bottom where the chin would be, with a pair of physical triangular ears at the top, painted grooves coinciding with the fox's whiskers, and a small triangular raise coinciding with the nose, but otherwise smooth; Hinata supposed she could call it a partially-shaped mask. "I've only seen this mask once," Hinata admitted, "when I was little. About seven, eight years ago now."

Neko nodded. "Uchiha Itachi," she confirmed. It was not exactly a secret that the legendary missing ninja had been the kitsune mask's previous bearer.

Turning the mask over, Hinata frowned as she took in the back of it—flat and smooth where her face would go, and there were no bands to hold it in place. Surreptitiously glancing over at Neko, she noted a distinct lack of bands on hers as well. Giving a mental shrug, the picked it up and brought it to her face. As soon as the mask made proper contact with her face, Hinata felt it immediately begin to draw on her chakra before snapping and locking into place. A moment after that, where before she had seen only black as she had yet to activate her byakugan, the world cleared and she could see again—somewhat sharper than she had before, actually and given her natural advantage in that area as a member of the Hyuuga clan, that was an impressive feat. When she breathed in through her nose, she found that this mask did not have the typical feeling of _wearing_ a mask that others brought with them—no warmth of her own breath against her face, no difficulty breathing at all. Taking note of the chakra draw, she realized it was so tiny as to be unnoticeable if she weren't actively looking for it—something on the lines of one percent of what she assumed went into a standard illusory bunshin. She could literally wear the mask all day and never lose more than that one percent of chakra, seeing as ninja regenerated more idling than the mask drew. "Very nifty," the girl breathed quietly, getting an answering nod from Neko. "So, taicho," Kitsune began, voice all sweet and nonchalant, setting off warning bells for Neko. "Can you teach me how to make the seals on these things?"

"Gladly," Neko confirmed, surprised and more than a little happy the girl was willing to learn. The records said ANBU hadn't had a proper seal master since Toad was decommissioned. Every mask currently in service and storage had been available at the time of Toad's service, though they were actual plain masks back then. When he reached a proper level of mastery, ANBU had this set of masks commissioned and Toad had done all the sealwork for them, setting them apart from other villages, at least for a while. When Toad retired from active duty, ANBU had been left with no proper seal master—and while Toad's work was meticulously documented and kept safe so those masks could be reproduced, no one really had the proficiency to try. Unfortunately, most ANBU chose to focus more on storage seals for weaponry, permanent summoning seals, and explosive seals to make tags—perhaps delving as far into it as to figure out how to create basic conditional triggers for traps, but nothing like the masterworks Toad had produced. In all honesty, they were afraid to touch the damn things for fear of breaking something. About as far as they were willing to go was to paint a blank, already sealed mask if someone wanted something that wasn't on the list—and painting it wouldn't damage the seals.

So it was that when a ninja retired from ANBU, they were not allowed to keep their mask—it was temporarily decommissioned for a year or three and then put back into circulation so there was no confusion about who was under the mask in question. Toad, Slug, and Snake had been decommissioned years ago in honor of the Sannin and had been the only masks pulled from the normal rotation for just as long. Snake had been recommissioned shortly before Neko joined, and then decommissioned when Anko left the ranks of ANBU shortly after finding out the hard way that she would never rise above special-jonin in rank and even being in ANBU did not grant her much leeway in learning new techniques, by order of the council—there was simply too much distrust on that front. If rumors were true, Toad would likely be recommissioned should Uzumaki Naruto ever join their ranks. Well, either Toad or the fourth semi-permanently decommissioned mask—oddly enough, the one that had belonged to Yondaime Hokage during his stint in ANBU. _That_ mask had no face—it was smooth and glazed white, with a thin red border circling it the only marking on it, and had started life as one of a dozen or so spares set aside to replace those broken or lost. The thing was even more unnerving to look at than normal ANBU masks. Yuugao wasn't sure, but given Yondaime had been Toad's student and apprentice, it stood to reason that the sealwork on that mask had been modified to the point of being unrecognizable to the others. They were, quite honestly, afraid to touch it—afraid of how it would react to foreign chakra or attempts to use or service it. Those few that could see the similarities and chose, wisely, to keep their mouths shut had little doubt that the mask would allow the boisterous blond to wear it.

Kitsune would have been permanently retired fourteen years ago after the Kyuubi attack, except Itachi got to it first and refused to part with it—not that anyone could order him to, once it had been commissioned in his name. The villagers had not been amused, but one does not argue lightly with ANBU—most certainly, one does not throw canned goods or rotten fruit at an ANBU operative but once, unless they wished to be publicly shamed before the whole village. As it stood, the mask had become something of an ill omen and was allowed to be decommissioned when Itachi had eliminated his clan and fled the village. Hinata had stated repeatedly that Konoha's own demon vessel containing the damned fox itself, Uzumaki Naruto, was her boyfriend—the boy whom most of Konoha had all but shit on for years. She knew exactly what she was doing, choosing that mask. The natives were going to be restless for years to come. Too bad for them, ANBU looked after their own and Neko was _still_ not a happy woman—assaults on her subordinates by the villagers were strictly _prohibited_, under threat of excessive violence.

"So, what now?" Kitsune hummed, eagerness apparent in her voice.

"Team meeting."

Shaking her head, the masked girl followed her leader out of the storage room, shutting the cabinet as she left. "Wow taicho, are you always this verbose?"

Neko twitched at the teasing lilt to her subordinate's voice. It seemed she'd adopted _yet another_ smartass. Well, at least she'd probably get along with Gecko. "Yes," she deadpanned.

Kitsune frowned momentarily before, just as quickly, a smile flitted across her face and she giggled quietly, causing the smile to widen when Neko visibly twitched. _'_Somebody's _getting infiltrated,'_ the girl decided, her smile going wider. "We'll see about that," she murmured, figuring that giving the woman a running start wouldn't hurt. She could run, but she couldn't hide, after all.

A whistle drew their attention to a lounge just coming into sight—one of many in the underground complex that housed ANBU headquarters. "Haven't seen _that_ mask in a while," a man's voice called, drawing Kitsune's eyes to its owner—a tall, thin man wearing a mask painted to look like a gecko. "And she's cute, too."

"Mind your tongue," Neko reprimanded, drawing a whine. "Kitsune. Medic. Infiltration, interrogation, and close combat focus. Expert level kage bunshin. Chuunin," she introduced the younger girl, getting nods and hidden eye-rolls at their captain's usual verbosity. "The mouthy one is Gecko. Water and earth elementalist, defensive jutsu specialist. Jonin." The masked man perked up, obviously opening his mouth to brag before Neko cut in with, "Bear is better."

"Ooh," Kitsune grinned. "I need one of those."

"Which one, cutie?" Gecko asked, earning a swat from the woman at his side—wearing a bird mask of some kind that looked like a crow, but Kitsune wasn't entirely sure.

"Please ignore any and all attempts at flirting by Gecko—we're pretty sure it's untreatable and if he keeps it up, terminal," the crow-masked young woman sighed, earning a whine from the taller man at her side.

"Training schedule," Neko confirmed around the back-chat, digging into her pouch and producing a folded sheet of paper, which she unfolded and stuck on a nearby cork board before returning to Kitsune's side. The list contained an assessment of Kitsune's current skill level, technique arsenal, and elemental affinity—along with a listing of fields she would be interested in studying. "The mousey little one with the crush on the mouth and the jealous streak is Rook."

"Taicho," Rook whined, shooting her captain a betrayed look—or as much as someone wearing a mask could manage—and confirming that she was somewhere between Kitsune and Neko in age, putting her at her late teens, very early twenties. That, or she was one of those with a young-sounding voice.

Neko ignored the younger woman's protestations. "Sniper, ranged fire support, trap specialist. Fire element, proficient but not an expert. Chuunin." After a moment, she added, "Evaluation for promotion, soon," earning a happy 'Oh!' from the girl in question.

"Need that too," Kitsune murmured, eying the older girl momentarily before turning her attention to the last member of this team.

Sensing the girl's attention shift, Neko continued. "The quiet tsundere with the crush on Rook is Falcon." There was much spluttering from the last member of Neko's little team and the woman grinned beneath her mask. It was good to be the boss, sometimes—and there was endless opportunity for teasing those under her command. And it was simplicity itself to get away with it—all she had to do was pretend obliviousness, as though everything she was saying was common knowledge, and maintain her usual almost-monotone and shortly-worded replies. "Weapon and tool specialist, prefers pole-arms and wire. Stealth expert with a focus on information theft and object acquisition. Lightning element, expert proficiency but no mastery. Special-jonin."

Kitsune was beginning to suspect that beneath her mask, Neko was an entirely different person than she let on—not a difficult tactic to understand. The woman had a sense of humor and was fond of her team, that much was obvious. Equally obvious was that, when on duty, she was all business and deadly serious. She had suspected as much when Neko picked her up from the Hyuuga compound the previous day to invite her to ANBU—part of it was in the way she moved. Even among ninja, Neko did not walk so much as stalk or slink—this was no tame little house cat, Neko was a genuine jungle cat and likely dangerous on a level Hinata had rarely seen since first coming aware in the Forest of Death. Brushing the thought aside, she pointed out something that had been bothering her since entering the lounge. "Aren't we missing one?" Three flinches met her question and she immediately knew she'd asked the wrong thing.

Pushing aside her pain at the thought of her lover's death, Yuugao resisted the urge to sigh. Instead, she focused on the pride she'd felt for the man who had recently left her life. "Tiger. Kenjutsu master. Master of kage bunshin. Water element, proficient. Wind element, expert. Fire element, novice. Jonin. Killed in action."

Blinking under her mask, Kitsune hummed quietly as she added all that up. If Tora hadn't died, that would leave her on a team with two, perhaps three close-range specialists in addition to herself, a mid-range defensive jutsu specialist, and ranged fire support. Frowning, she asked, "Just what sort of team _is_ this?"

Kitsune could hear the smile behind Gecko's mask. "The sort of team you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley—or even a well-lighted one."

"So, what does our captain specialize in?"

Neko shrugged. "Neko. Captain, ANBU Squad Nine. Kenjutsu specialist. Expert with tool use, traps, stealth and silent killing. Master of terrain manipulation. Earth, water, and fire elements—expert to master proficiency. Jonin."

Kitsune blinked. "'Terrain manipulation?'" she echoed.

"Using the terrain to one's advantage. Turning the terrain to one's advantage when it is not and turning it against the enemy's advantage," Neko explained. "It is a combination of techniques. Earth and water manipulation, to shape the earth beneath my feet to provide more or less traction as needed. Chakra shape manipulation for proper gripping of trees and other uneven surfaces not easily changed."

"Combined with a sword, you have someone who can't be pushed off their feet and who always strikes with more force and moves with more surety," Kitsune surmised, getting a nod. "You use a lot of running, charging attacks huh?" she asked, getting a slower nod this time. "And you really mean you're creating chakra claws," she grinned. It would explain her choice of mask, if she could grip things like a cat.

"She's good," Rook murmured, getting a nod from Falcon and Gecko.

Shrugging, Kitsune asked, "I realize it's a sensitive subject, but how does that last place get filled? Will someone rotate in?"

Neko shook her head. "Recruiting."

Humming, Kitsune grinned. "So... got someone in mind?"

Neko's head shake came slower this time. "Do you?"

Nodding, the girl began a summary much as Neko had done. "Small weapon specialist, prefers senbon. Water, wind elements. Advanced kekkai genkai, ice element. Master of disguise, silent killing, non-lethal disablement, stealth. Proficient field-medic training. Potentially a kenjutsu expert as well, or at least very proficient with a zanbatou. Former apprentice to one of the Seven Swordsmen. Genin, chuunin-to-jonin level skill."

"Shit, you had me sold at 'advanced kekkai genkai,'" Gecko whistled again. "But apprentice to one of those guys? That's like saying you're apprentice to a sannin." Slowly, Kitsune raised her hand, drawing the man's gaze. "Really?"

Kitsune shrugged. "Apprentice to an apprentice, if Anko would ever make it official."

"Hyuuga Hinata," Falcon spoke up, drawing a slow nod from Kitsune. "I see." Whatever it was she saw, however, she kept to herself.

"So... two bloodlines?" Gecko asked, getting a nod from Neko.

Blinking, Kitsune asked, "So, I can recruit her?"

"Yes," Neko confirmed. She knew enough of who Hinata was referring to to know that her rank was circumstantial and subject to change—there was some leeway she could use to recruit what was technically a genin on record, but had skills to easily pass on to chuunin. "Report tomorrow, oh eight hundred. Dismissed."

With a nod, the girl turned and left as Neko began handing out assignments. Apparently, her team had drawn village patrol for the mid-day shift, but Hinata was being excused to collect Haku. She did not mind at all, that she could get out of running back and forth across the village for eight hours. Of course, now that her team knew she was a Hyuuga, she would likely be called upon to use her byakugan full time. It wasn't something she minded—she suspected such advantages were to be disclosed to one's team anyway.

* * *

Watching her cousin squirm in pain and clench his fists and jaw in an effort not to scream as she—rather needlessly painfully—mended his various breaks and fractures, Hinata smiled beatifically. It was the simple pleasures in life, really—good food, good friends, good sex, painful revenge against those who had wronged you. Maybe it wasn't quite healthy, focusing as she was on paying her cousin back for all the anguish he'd caused her over the years and she'd just dismissed—then again, maybe it was better she got it out of her system in a non-destructive way as opposed to simply slitting his throat. By the time he was healed, he _may_ even be close to even in her books. Then again, maybe not—he did kill her once a week, every week, for so long she had lost count and there was no real way for him to repay that.

A particularly nasty break twisted back into place, bone grinding harshly against bone momentarily and the boy whimpered. It was like music to her ears, really. Sighing quietly, she turned her mind away from thoughts of tormenting her cousin and onto something more productive—namely, seals. Progress was being made on reverse engineering Orochimaru's and Hinata was sure they were nearing a turning point—very, very soon she would be able to completely remove the damnable thing. They just needed live test subjects. Anko had already volunteered, but Hinata had declined—even if she could fix it, she couldn't bring herself to kill the woman repeatedly to cure her. There were release points within the seal, points at which one could apply chakra and force the seal to dissolve—there _had_ to be, since they were in every seal—the problem was in getting to them. At least, that's if they went after those as opposed to the brute-force method—unfortunately, they didn't _have_ a brute-force method at the moment.

Even without progress into removing it, they were learning much about fuuinjutsu as a whole simply by studying it. Mad though he may be, Orochimaru was still a genius and second only to Jiraiya at fuuinjutsu with Yondaime dead. Before, it would have been humiliating to admit that Sakura was actually coming to grips with the madman's work faster than she was—now though, it was simple acknowledgment of fact, and a bit of pride in choosing well. The first time she'd had to ask for help on something had hurt, but Sakura had been surprisingly good about it—apparently, that little bonding session had been enough to bring them to a mutual understanding and clear the air of any animosity between the pair. It was Sakura, after all, who had pointed out the massive medical-style regenerative seal buried in amongst all the other stuff—something Hinata really should have spotted first, having been exposed to such things much longer with her work at the hospital. The connected storage seal and its contents had been... disturbing. And worrying. Hinata had sworn Haku and Sakura to secrecy, though Ibiki had needed no such warning, knowing full well what such information would do to the woman he'd called a friend for years now—let alone what the village council would do, once they caught wind of it. It would be all the excuse they needed to dispose of Orochimaru's last living student as they'd wanted to for years. Needless to say, that particular section of the seal had been labeled 'Do Not Open' and left alone from then on.

Orochimaru aspired not just for power, but for immortality. The man had actually found a way to _clone_ himself. Not illusions, not even shadows and chakra like kage bunshin—but actual, biological clones. The cursed seals, attached physically as they were to the host, leeched both chakra and nutrients in order to fuel the cloning process—developing new copies of the man from nothing but a cell culture; a cellular culture which had come from his original body but they had no way of knowing that at the moment. Not only that, having some idea what she was looking for, Hinata was able to spot what must be a seal similar to the one she was looking to build—one to contain, transfer, and/or implant memories—nested nearby to the regenerative seal. _That_ had brightened her day and she had immediately set a clone to tearing the thing apart and figuring out how it worked. Even if it wasn't ideal, it would put her that much closer to what she wanted—all she'd need would be to figure out how it interacted with the brain, then figure out how to create and connect the interface she wanted. It would be useful by itself, but without the ability to do things automatically—keeping track of her own personal time-lines, for instance—it wasn't good enough.

Of course, even if she finished the seal she wanted, it wouldn't be much help if it were as visible as Anko's own—something Jiraiya had pointed out when he'd first learned what she intended. One could hide seals by folding them, but even then there were limits—Tsunade's seal for instance. Hinata had some idea of what it did, and to do that would require hundreds of meters of sealwork if it were printed at anything close to readable size. Tsunade's seal was folded in upon itself and set on her forehead in a diamond shape, according to Jiraiya, but it was still plainly visible for all to see. Even Hinata's own current set of seals—chakra storage, triggers, and explosive—was plainly visible when she removed her shirt. So far, her best idea was to make them tiny and hidden in plain sight, but there were only so many ways to disguise—

Neji twitched, breaking her from her thoughts and drawing her eyes down to her work. The break beneath her hands had been one of the few compound fractures, almost as nasty as Lee's own injuries. It had initially broken the skin, but medics on-site had repaired at least that much when they had initially taken him in and ascertained his condition. She couldn't do anything about the scar, but then again, it's not like anyone would notice.

Hinata blinked, parsing that thought again before glancing down further, catching sight of another scar, then another near that—the tell-tale signs of a shinobi lifestyle, before one was quick enough to dodge blades. She had mostly tuned them out, because they were just small scars—decoration that only the truly vain cared about unless they were truly unsightly, such as in the case of burn scars. But these weren't from burns—being straight, shallow, and thin they were most likely from kunai and shuriken. And she had _ignored_ them.

Neji frowned as his cousin's smile returned, delving into territory he had been exposed to often in the recent past. It could only mean bad things for someone, and seeing as he was still within easy reach of her hands, he was a prime target. When her gaze turned upwards to focus on his plainly visible seal, he had to force himself not to flinch. "What?"

"I'm thinking," she murmured, weighing her options. Scars would work, yes, but they were still too visible. She needed something smaller, even less visible... but the human body was a canvas with many of its own natural imperfections and blemishes already. Freckles, moles, birthmarks, even tan lines... "Don't move."

Neji's eyes went a little wide as he caught first sight of the Sakura Grove—at least, what she knew of it. They narrowed as tendrils of chakra probed his seal for a moment before he felt the odd sensation of an active seal matrix unfolding across one's skin. Several more tendrils appeared, motes of light he knew to be chakra dancing among them before he felt a mild electrical charge against his skin, and then what could only be compared to pressure that had been pressing in against his body for the last ten years simply vanish—as though his entire body had been bound in ropes and she had just taken to a blade to them all at once. "My seal...?" he began, not quite willing to believe it himself, but he had _felt_ it.

"Removed," Hinata confirmed, her tone all business. "Don't get all excited yet. I'm going to put it back on you."

"What."

Sighing, the girl shook her head and raised her hands to his head to begin the process of re-inscribing the seal. "I want to test a theory. After I'm finished, I'll remove it completely. If the clan re-seals you, I may even remove it again if you shut your mouth and let me work." On the boy's quick nod, she began.

"Well?" Neji asked, several minutes later. The pressure had returned, letting him know the seal was back in place. After having lived with it for a decade and suddenly being freed of it, feeling it again was almost unbearable.

"Almost finished," Hinata nodded. "Just have to test it." On the boy's narrowed eyes, she shrugged. "Sorry," she apologized, forming the hand-seals necessary and channeling chakra. Neji's reaction was instant, in the form of a howl of pain. She only left it active for a second, but even that long was enough to leave her feeling somehow dirtied just by association with that damnable seal. A quick diagnostic scan proved the boy wasn't faking it, given his elevated heart rate and other obvious signs that were impossible to reliably fake in so short a time and on such short notice. Pushing him back onto the bed, she observed her handiwork momentarily before beginning to dissolve the seal she same way she had the first time. The new seal was tiny in comparison to his original Caged Bird seal—no larger than her fingernail, really—and visible only as a slightly darker area of skin in the middle of his forehead that could easily be mistaken for a particularly large freckle. The only way she could actually remove it was using the Sakura Grove—manual removal would be physically impossible at this size, and she had just learned that physical size had no bearing whatsoever on a seal's strength or ability to do whatever it was meant to do. Theoretically, one could be microscopic and still be as effective as a seal that covered the entire body—everything important was not so much in the physical properties as the wording. It was a bit like a simple math statement—writing it in red ink as opposed to blue, or writing it a foot across as opposed to an inch wouldn't change the fact that two plus two always equaled four. Of course, she could immediately think of ways size would matter—namely, any seal that used part of the seal itself to describe an area as opposed to complex math. Still, this changed things a bit—maybe more than just 'a bit.' She would have to ask the old pervert just to be sure, but she had a hunch. He had always used brush and ink, after all, so either there was a reason for it, or it was simple habit...

The entire thing was composed of skin pigmentation—that's it. No ink, no brush, just very precise application of medical jutsu to convince melanin to gather in a set pattern. Of course, being a biological medium and subject to change, she would need some way of propagating the seal and ensuring it remained intact over time. A second seal to refresh the first set could do it easily, and there were already plenty of medical seals she could look over to find or make what she needed. _'What happens when the set designed to keep it intact breaks?'_ Hinata wondered briefly, before her answer became apparent in an old ninja credo: two is one, one is none. Redundancy was key. Create multiple copies of the same seal—hell, of all the seals—and link them together in a latticework that used the entire body as its canvas. Given how small she could make seals now, that could be literally thousands of copies of the same seal with no real compound effects. Some could only be placed in specific areas—such as the connecting point to her chakra storage seals—but the rest could go anywhere. Now that she thought about it, even _Orochimaru's_ seal had some self-perpetuation work built into it somewhere, to keep someone from trying to outright destroy all or part of his work in an attempted brute-force attack.

Of course, there were going to be differences in the work she'd done with Neji and what she would do to herself. For instance, Hinata's skin was _much_ lighter than Neji's. Unlike most people with pale skin, Hinata's was clear and did not turn red easily—not without either sunburn or a blush—and was mostly unblemished, again not counting the evidence of a life as a ninja. She could always simply flood her skin with melanin for an instant tan, but Hinata _liked_ her perfect, pale skin—and more importantly, she knew _Naruto_ liked it. Little trace-work lines of seals crafted with skin pigmentation would show up more on Hinata than they would on many others. But a _lack_ of pigmentation, however, would hardly be noticed—like tiny scars, most people would tune it out at anything but close range. Removing pigmentation was easy enough, keeping it removed could be just as easy with the proper seals...

So it was that Hyuuga Hinata found herself once more accosted in the middle of a training field at dusk by a clone wearing hospital garb. "Down you go!" the clone grinned, knocking the original off her feet and straddling her creator's waist. A few quick tugs had Hinata's jacket off and shirt pulled up, exposing her breasts—and the sealwork between, under and now around them. "Let's get rid of that, shall we? Never was one for tattoos," the clone murmured, lines of ghostly light connecting with the downed Hinata as points of light came into contact with the seal, which promptly dissolved.

Hinata blinked. "Do we have to have this discussion again?"

Above her, Hinata smiled. "I'll just win again. Trust me, I wouldn't undo all our work if I didn't think I could re-do it."

"What are you doing?" Hinata asked, as above her, the clone had begun actively using medical chakra using her byakugan to guide her work.

"Well, knowing how vain we are about our skin," the clone began, pausing to laugh at the original's poked out tongue at the jibe. "This time, I took the time to do proper research before coming. I did some experimenting with Neji, and I figured out how to create seals out of skin pigmentation."

"It would stand out from a kilometer away," Hinata argued, getting a nod from her clone.

"Three steps ahead of you. Just lay back and hush while I work," she admonished, before a smirk crossed her face. "Well, unless you'd rather do _something else_."

The Hyuuga girl blinked, then blinked again, even as her clone grabbed her pants and yanked them and the panties beneath them down around her ankles. "I can't believe I had that thought," she denied, shaking her head. "Kage Bunshin and their variants are dangerous," she murmured, feeling suddenly more exposed.

"Yes, we are," the girl atop her admitted. "Nothing to lose, after all."

"I would not _not_ seduce myself," Hinata reiterated flatly.

Above her, Hinata snorted. "Remember, I'm you separated by only a few hours. You _would_. We are damn sexy, after all. The question is, would it be sex or masturbation?"

"_Awkward._ Are you done molesting me yet? You're taking an awfully long time up there."

The clone shrugged. "Redundancy. One copy of the seal may be destroyed, but a few hundred self-perpetuating copies across our entire body? Not likely. Now, roll over."

Rolling over, the original sighed as her clone settled back down. "I didn't realize I was that paranoid," she murmured, resting her head on her arms and closing her eyes. "While you're back there, would you—?"

"Massage?" the clone asked, rolling her eyes as her originator nodded. "Sure. May as well do that too while I'm feeling me up."

Hinata had very nearly fallen asleep by the time the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Above her, the clone shifted slightly and slowed briefly in working out a kink in her creator's back, before picking her work back up. "Are you sure you should leave yourself so vulnerable, Kitsune?"

"Neko-chan," Hinata chirped in stereo, one set of eyes turning to regard Uzuki Yuugao while the other closed again in contented bliss. "Aren't we supposed to keep our ANBU identities secret?"

"We're alone. Kurenai and Anko stopped watching an hour ago and there is no one else around within a kilometer."

Hinata hummed. "Didn't realize I'd had an audience—going to have to work on expanding my byakugan range. Were they sitting just outside of my usual range with field glasses or something?"

"Yes. They are very interested in your welfare. They did not leave until your clone arrived from the hospital."

Chuckling, the girl nodded. "And you came to check up on me yourself?" she asked, receiving a slow nod in answer. "I was never alone, you know." Hearing the woman's curious humm, Hinata smiled. "You didn't notice the thirty clones around you, armed to the teeth?"

"No," Neko admitted, to which the girl smirked. With the last rays of sunlight gone and the stars just beginning to provide proper illumination, the elder ANBU could make out ghostly lines of light twist into place around them lightning fast. A moment later, they glowed faintly brighter before exactly thirty clones of the girl formed, every last one of them with some form of weapon drawn and pointed her way. They were there just long enough for the demonstration to be effective before they disappeared the same way they had come and the girl's tendrils faded from view. "Impressive."

Hinata sighed. "Taicho, you aren't wearing your mask—you don't have to act like it," she pointed out.

Nodding slowly, the woman dropped to kneel in the grass at the younger girl's side. "Uzuki Yuugao," she murmured, by way of introduction.

"Anko's mentioned you a time or two," the clone smiled.

Answering the girl's acknowledgment with a nod, she gestured towards the clone. "What are you doing?"

"Destroyed and rebuilt my seal array into a more useful seal network," Hinata breathed out in a sigh as the copy above her found a particularly tender spot.

Yuugao twitched, unsure whether to be embarrassed or envious—it was _quite_ obvious the younger girl was enjoying herself, after all. "Would you mind stopping that while we talk?"

"Yes," both of the dark-haired girl deadpanned.

Rolling her eyes, the elder ANBU palmed a kunai and absently flipped it into the clone, where the girl dispersed, hospital scrubs dropping to lie flat against the original's lower back. When that failed to elicit so much as a twitch from Hinata, save for the creation of another clone—which was also swiftly dispersed—Yuugao shrugged and scooted closer before beginning to straighten her subordinate's clothes. "If you're going to disperse my clones, at least pick up where she left off," Hinata mewled.

"You are spoiled," Yuugao accused, getting a nod from the girl below her even as she struggled to replace the panties and the pants that had gone over them. It did nothing to speed the process that Hinata was an unwilling participant and entirely uncooperative with her efforts. "You're worse than Anko. She at least has the decency to wear clothes when we meet." After a moment, she tacked on a quiet amendment of, "Most of the time."

"If you can call them that," Hinata giggled. Finally, she brushed the jonin's hands off and straightened her own clothes before rolling over onto her back to regard the other woman. "So, you've got a good reason for interrupting?"

"I do," Yuugao admitted, and Hinata realized that even without her mask the woman was still all business. It didn't entirely fit with what Anko had told her about Yuugao, however little it may have been. The woman was typically serious, yes, but this was worrying. "Have you ever heard of Message in a Bottle Protocol?"

Slowly, Hinata's eyes tracked up to meet the much darker purple of Yuugao's own. "I have not," she admitted, but she had a _very_ good idea where this was going. She prepared to create and disperse a yuurei bunshin on short notice—with any luck, the clone's dispersal could pass along the message to the rest of her even with the original unconscious. Then, it was just a matter of activating her remote-detonation seal and going back to kill Uzuki Yuugao... or refuse her request to join ANBU, at any rate.

"You don't want to do that," Yuugao murmured, reading the girl like a book. "I am not your enemy." Seeing Hinata looked willing to listen, she continued. "A little over two months before the chuunin exams, a high-profile genin suddenly breaks routine and begins training at a furious pace, while displaying expert-level skill with a jutsu most jonin can't perform—even going so far as to seek out a new instructor. A month passes and that genin suddenly takes an interest in Konoha's demon vessel, even going as far as to become his lover. This genin then proceeds to share techniques and training with the demon vessel—"

"Stop calling him that."

Yuugao nearly smiled at the ill-concealed threat in the girl's words. Nodding in reply, she continued. "This genin then breezes through the second phase of the exam in record time, but leaves clones behind to observe Uzumaki's team. One of those clones then dispels a seal placed on Uzumaki by Orochimaru himself while managing to avoid that Sannin's attention, somehow. During the preliminary elimination match, this genin then demonstrates a never-before-seen level of skill, using a variety of techniques and tactics to trap the Hyuuga prodigy within his own technique and then disable him in what looked to everyone present like some kind of personal grudge match."

"I'm pretty sure I know where this story goes from there," Hinata deadpanned, interrupting her superior. "What's your point, taicho?"

"Typically, such an upswing in skill would be looked upon with suspicion and the genin in question would either be placed under observation or in quarantine—suspected of being an enemy agent attempting to infiltrate our ranks, a recently-activated sleeper agent, or compromised and brainwashed."

"Except an enemy infiltrator wouldn't draw as much attention as I did," Hinata countered, earning a nod.

"That, and you've passed every single test that has been run on you. As far as medicine and science can determine, you are Hyuuga Hinata—or at least her body. Techniques like the Yamanaka's could be in play and it does not rule out the possibility of either a sleeper agent or brainwashing techniques. The Kumo incident, eight years ago," the woman suggested, only for Hinata to interrupt by shaking her head.

"Except for the fact that I very obviously bear a personal grudge against Neji and have done everything I can to help Naruto-kun—two things even a washout from the academy could tell you confirm that I am who I say I am, in mind."

"Yes," Yuugao admitted. "Ibiki checked. Against all possibilities."

Hinata chucked. "I am not surprised."

"Ruling out the usual methods, all that was left was the _unusual_. An individual grows and changes over time. If that person leaves for a year and comes back, he or she could have changed in small ways that may seem strange to an outsider but would be every day life to the individual in question. You act like someone who has been gone a very long time, only to return to settle old scores. Message in a Bottle Protocol is an intellectual exercise—something someone thought up on a whim and put on a list of potential worst-case scenarios for space-time jutsu gone wrong. Suppose you learn of a new bloodline or technique that could allow the wielder to traverse time itself, what would be the best way to utilize such a person? Would you lock them away beneath a tower for the rest of their natural lifespan, treating them well and keeping them updated on current events in the hope that if something goes wrong, that message can be cast into the ocean of time to return to friendlier shores? Do you let them go free, filling your bottle with as much as you possibly can before waiting until the time is right and hope the eventual tsunami created washes away all the bad before it? Or do you eliminate the possible threat to all of us that such a technique represents, to prevent us all from being swept away in the currents of time?"

"It's an interesting argument," Hinata agreed slowly. "What's your take on it?"

Yuugao sat silent several long minutes, studying the girl lying below her regarding her in return with a sort of unworried, untouchable patience. Finally, she allowed a small smile to creep onto her face before turning her eyes upwards to regard the starry sky above them. "I believe the second is the more useful of the three options."

"Ibiki told you?"

"No," Yuugao answered, getting a frown. "Like Ibiki, I am one of the few capable of recognizing the changes in Anko's behavior—Kurenai being the next most likely. Unlike Kurenai, I had no reason to blindly trust you and no previous knowledge of you to pass off most of your own changes as simple desperation and then later as determination. Anko spoke highly of you, several times—enough to pique my interest. I simply gathered evidence and worked outward from there and came to the conclusion on my own, then approached Ibiki, who confirmed my theory. Like myself, he sees the utility in allowing you semi-autonomous reign over how you handle your self-appointed mission—within reason."

Nodding, Hinata asked, "Aren't you worried I'll become the next Orochimaru, or Itachi?"

Shaking her head, the jonin smiled. "No. You value Uzumaki too much for the first and the second was likely acting under orders on a truly black operation—in which case such loyalty should be rewarded as opposed to disavowed."

"I could always just spirit Naruto-kun away," Hinata suggested.

"I don't believe you would," Yuugao denied. "How does it work?"

Shooting the woman a look to see if she was serious, Hinata smiled. "I don't think I should tell you—I wouldn't want you trying to prevent me from using it. You know from observation that attempts at cutting me off from my power will be met with explosive failure. I am not bragging when I say that at this point, it would take either Jiraiya or Orochimaru to truly lock me away—the first has no reason to yet and the second is unaware. I _will_ say that it only goes back, never forward."

"How far?"

The woman was almost an emotional void at times, but _this_ she apparently cared about, Hinata realized. Humming, she asked, "Who was Tiger? When did he—"

"No," Yuugao interrupted. "If you go back, you must be prepared to face what waits for you there. If you _did_ succeed, I would have no reason to induct you into ANBU unless it was clear that it was you who saved his life, which would only bring about more questions—namely, how a genin at the time could defeat a jonin. Even whatever this Sakura Grove is wouldn't explain such a disparity satisfactorily—such a technique typically takes years to master, even when passed down through a family willing to teach one how to perform it. It would be a glaring irregularity that would draw even more attention to your situation. You are needed more in the present than the past at the moment and by saving the life of one man, you would ham-string your ability to learn and develop the techniques and skills you need most along with missing out on valuable experience that ANBU can provide."

Hinata blinked. "You would turn down an offer to save your... what, husband? Boyfriend? Lover?"

"The last two," Yuugao murmured. "And yes. In a heartbeat, if it meant making sure _none_ of it ever happened. My focus is on the long-term goal, now that you have confirmed your capability."

"You're like me," Hinata hummed quietly, sending the woman a soft smile. After a moment of consideration, she sighed quietly and nodded—decision made. "Okay. Fine. I'll stay. As for how far back I can go... well, let's just say 'far enough.'"

"What are your intentions? Your plans?"

Finding Yuugao's eyes had again sought out her own, Hinata thought the question over. On the one hand, she should not trust these people with her secret—they very obviously wanted to use her to their own ends, or at the very least to the betterment of Konoha. On the other hand, they were willing to trust her not to simply abandon them and to safeguard their future and were offering to give her a massive boost in skill that wouldn't be easily obtained elsewhere. Finally, she nodded slowly before beginning. "I think... emulating Itachi may not be so bad an idea. At the very least, there are certain elements within the Hyuuga clan that must be purged before there can be any sort of peace or happiness for the rest." When Yuugao offered neither judgment nor protestation, she continued. "I think I can save my mother, as well."

"Thus the medical training."

"Partly, yeah," Hinata admitted. "After that... well, Hanabi and I grew up with a clan head instead of a father, and no mother. I think it may turn out better if that were reversed."

Yuugao blinked. "You... intend to kill your own father?"

"Something like that," Hinata murmured. "I will give him one chance to become the father he should have been, with mother alive. If he fails, then he will likely wind up doing more harm than good to Hanabi—that I will not abide. Mother tasked me with looking after Hanabi, before her death. I... I was too much of a _coward_ to perform that duty, too afraid to stand up to father, to the council, to Neji, to Hanabi herself—it's unsurprising that she lost all respect for me years ago. It's just one more thing on my list of things needing to be set right."

Nodding, the ANBU hummed a moment before making a decision. "I've found kenjutsu to be particularly useful against hand-to-hand specialists."

Hinata smiled at the offer, but shook her head. "No. Well, I won't turn down an offer for training, but I have something special in mind for them."

"The Sakura Grove."

"When I finish it," the younger girl nodded. "I'm thinking the best bet may be to attempt to use it and my byakugan to bring about death by natural causes using medical techniques—hemorrhages, heart attacks, and the like. All of them are old, so it may just work. Of course, I'd have to get them away from the Hyuuga compound, when their byakugan isn't active or be very, very careful about using it within the Hyuuga compound. Failing that, I now know of a nearly untraceable poison that would do the job well..."

Accepting the girl's plan with a nod as she could see no better way to do it, Yuugao asked, "How long do you plan to stay in the present?"

"As long as there is some benefit to be had," Hinata admitted after a moment of thought. "I'd like to let Naruto-kun learn as much as he can under Jiraiya, so I can return it to him when I go back."

Yuugao blinked, realizing the implications. _He_ was her entire reason for going back, now. Her mother, her clan, her friends and family, the village itself—while they were nice thoughts, they were exactly that, afterthoughts. Everything was second to Uzumaki Naruto, in her mind. For him, Hinata would gladly watch them all burn with a smile on her face. The _only_ thing convincing the girl to aid any of them and not simply cut a bloody swath through the middle of Konoha to avenge every wrong ever done that boy was the fact that he genuinely wanted to help the village and didn't care for petty revenge. How the hell did Ibiki miss _this_? Then again, he may very well be aware—Uzumaki's loyalty to Konoha was beyond question at this point, after all and so long as the boy remained loyal Hinata would do nothing to upset or disappoint him. "You do not play around."

"I do not." After a moment, she amended, "Well, not where it counts." Glancing at her watch, she stretched before rolling to her feet. Beside her, Yuugao did the same. "I should be getting home—Haku-chan will get worried and I don't want her accidentally getting twitchy with my seal if I don't show up on time."

Surprised, the jonin's eyes widened somewhat in realization. "You created a remote detonation seal and gave someone else access to it?"

Hinata smirked. "Yup—her and Naruto-kun. And, of course, there's a copy written in amongst the rest of this mess I call a seal network," she admitted, gesturing. "Which means every single clone is capable of setting it off."

"So, you obviously go back by default when you die," Yuugao inferred, getting a shrug in answer. "You don't trust anyone, do you?"

"You're wrong. I trust you plenty. I just don't like the idea of being trapped. I've spent enough of my life in one cage or another—my clan, the threat of the Caged Bird seal, my own inability to act on my feelings... Never again."

Observing the girl's resolve, Yuugao nodded minutely. _'So, this is why Ibiki hasn't bothered focusing on anti-interrogation techniques. He already suspected as much. She has no real fear of physical pain or death any more—it is as commonplace to her as her period; inconvenient and uncomfortable, but a fact of life. No cage, shackles, or seals can truly hold her while she's wearing her own seal; if I were a betting woman, I would wager she has already set up triggers to self-terminate should she be cut off from her chakra, forcibly rendered unconscious, or drugged. I would also wager, given her display of immodesty and lack of body consciousness, she has crafted some sort of anti-rape trigger as well. Useful. Of course, being unafraid of death and pain can be just as much of a liability, if she has no reason to push herself beyond her normal capabilities. Perhaps I can find a way to remedy that.'_

* * *

Life as an ANBU operative, Hinata had quickly learned, was not what everyone made it out to be. It was a lot like being on any other team, really—occasional bitching between teammates as they became more familiar with each other, lots of training, long periods of boredom spent doing necessary but otherwise dull things, and the occasional brief moment of pants-pissing terror. The only real difference was that on Team Eight, those few moments of terror had only ever come outside of Konoha. With Neko's ANBU Nine, terror and training went hand in hand and missions in the outside world where they were merely under threat of death from enemy ninja as opposed to training with Neko were seen almost as a reprieve.

It did not take long for Hinata to realize two things: firstly, Anko had always been going easy on her, not wanting to damage a potential asset. Secondly, Anko had apparently been Yuugao's captain before the woman quit ANBU—and Yuugao had inherited Anko's vicious streak. Unlike Anko, Yuugao had no qualms drawing blood—Hinata was a medic and if she couldn't fix it herself, then they had a hospital. Barring that, the girl could reset. The tactic forced a very quick progression in the girl's taijutsu skill—namely, learning to _not be there_ when Yuugao struck. It was more difficult in reality than it sounded in theory. Hinata had quickly learned that clones and kawarimi were the only sure method of preventing grievous bodily harm—and even that didn't work all the time, mostly because the tactic ran counter to Yuugao's own plan to force Hinata to gain skill and/or suffer for it.

A large part of being part of one of the great clans meant learning things others wouldn't from a very young age. Her lessons had varied from etiquette to politics, from martial arts to history, from dancing to the best methods of killing someone with only a dessert spoon, and so much more. One of those lessons in particular pertained to the various well-known styles of unarmed combat native to Konoha. Eight well-known, if not widely used, styles of unarmed or chakra-aided techniques had originated or settled within Konoha to date. Some of them had been lost over the years, but were far from forgotten.

Dancing Leaf was Konoha's own standardized taijutsu style, taught to academy students and typically sharpened by jonin-sensei and later, ANBU if one were inducted. It relied heavily on acrobatics, with an emphasis on dodging and parrying blows and an even mix of offense, defense, and redirection. As one would expect from Konoha, given their environment, it heavily favored having obstacles—namely trees—to maneuver through and around, slowing the enemy and potentially leading them into traps while using trees as springboards to provide momentum and sudden direction changes. Naruto's own taijutsu style was predominantly a much flashier Dancing Leaf—what little he had been taught or managed to recreate by observation, and the rest heavy improvisation. Oddly, the orange worked well to distract the eye and hide a good quarter of the boy's attacks—as Hinata knew from firsthand experience. She would be experimenting with a similar tactic in the near future.

Gentle Fist had been created by the Hyuuga some years ago, shortly after settling in Konoha—when someone apparently took it upon themselves to shift their clan focus from medical techniques to hand-to-hand specialists during the First War. The style was mostly offensive, relying on the Byakugan to deliver fast, instantly crippling or lethal blows or wear down an enemy by cutting them off from their own chakra. High-nineties percent accuracy and a focus on speed training allowed them to act either alone or with a group as a supporting force, and the sixty-four palms and heavenly spin techniques allowed them to take on multiple foes at close range that others would have issue with. It was, as Anko had called it, mostly offense-as-defense—disable the enemy before the enemy can do the same to the user.

Intercepting Fist was older than Gentle Fist by far, but turned out to be the Uchiha's perfect answer to counter the Hyuuga's own style. Or, perhaps, Gentle Fist was meant as a counter to Intercepting Fist—the only ones who could say were long dead. As the name implied, the technique relied primarily on intercepting an opponent's attacks and then counter-attacking in the brief moment where their foe was left open, or likewise predicting and then dodging blows and forcing the opponent to over-extend and then taking advantage of the opening. Supposedly, it depended as much on the Sharingan as Gentle Fist relied on the Byakugan. To Hinata's knowledge, there was only one true practitioner left—Uchiha Itachi. While she could see bits and pieces of a foreign style in Sasuke's taijutsu, the boy's own style was predominantly Dancing Leaf. Well, it had been, until he had copied parts of Lee's Strong Fist during the exam.

Strong Fist had very few practitioners, as far as Hinata knew—Rock Lee and his sensei Maito Gai, and now Uchiha Sasuke given that he had stolen parts of the style. Despite that, it was well known—Gai was infamous as the greatest taijutsu master to come out of Konoha in decades, much as Kurenai was Konoha's own genjutsu mistress. From what she knew of it, both through her lessons and observation, the style relied mostly on greater speed and power to overwhelm an opponent with unrelenting, brute force and then simply not being there when the opponent made to retaliate. It could be defeated, but anyone willing to try would pay dearly for the effort—and that wasn't even counting two of its users' ability to open the Eight Celestial Gates. _That_ had been surprising the first time she'd seen it—and amazing, that Lee had managed to use the technique at his age.

Heavy Fist, similarly to Strong Fist, relied on overwhelming force—the primary difference being, the Akimichi didn't rely on speed so much as greater size and mass. It helped that with their family techniques, a single strike could literally smash ninja like bugs and come down on a crowd of enemies like a ton of bricks dropped from the roof of a building. It was slow compared to any of the other techniques within Konoha, but then it didn't have to be fast when the sheer potential size of an attack left little room to dodge and almost guaranteed one-hit kills. It was also one of the very few taijutsu styles Hinata knew of that would put the user on a level to potentially take out a summon in hand-to-hand combat, without ranged ninjutsu bombardment—Strong Fist and Meteoric Fist being the only others still in use to date.

Raking Claw had been introduced to what would eventually become Konoha by the Inuzuka clan well before its formation, aligned as they were with the Senju and was likely as old as Intercepting Fist. It focused primarily on speed and precision to deliver clawed swipes, jabs, and raking attacks taking advantage of the Inuzuka's claws, with a bit of misdirection mixed in for fun. Its biggest threat came in the two-fold attacks from master and familiar, forcing the opponent to fight both a human with an unpredictable style and a dog working in synchronization or two bestial hybrids created with the Inuzuka's own family techniques. It was strongly suspected that those transformation techniques were actually a bloodline limit and not simply an advanced transformation—similarly to the Akimichi's own not-so-obvious bloodline. Standard henge was a localized bunshin, after all—nothing but an illusion and completely incapable of altering size, mass, or other things that both Raking Claw and Heavy Fist could do. The only, _only_ way to perform those techniques to that scale would be to create an utterly massive chakra shell and direct that—impossible due to several reasons, namely chakra reserve requirements and chakra control requirements. Anyone who could create a chakra shell on that scale would be far more terrifying in combat than any solid transformation technique. Hinata strongly suspected that Naruto could do both—she had seen the transformation herself and if anyone had the chakra to pull off a full-body chakra shell, it would be him. She hadn't forgotten the scattered descriptions of his first trip to Wave, either—mostly coaxed out of a very reluctant Sakura by Ino at the time.

Hidden Fist, otherwise known as Hebi or Snake Fist, had originated as a direct challenge to every clan and bloodline-fueled technique within Konoha. That it had succeeded in more than one open challenge only managed to irritate the clans. In the present day, the style was looked upon with more scorn than simple dislike due to its creator—Orochimaru. There were only two practitioners left in Konoha to date—Anko, and now Hinata. A better name for the style would be Unexpected Fist, really, given its nature. Hebi used little-to-no chakra for its attacks beyond basic body reinforcement, instead relying on raw physical speed and strength to deliver precise disabling or outright lethal blows to pressure points and other weak points on the human body—similar to Gentle Fist, except there was nothing gentle about it and it used no real expressed chakra. The biggest threat of the style was that it was intentionally unpredictable—the user struck with little to no warning, using the focus of their own gaze and other blows as misdirection to hide a fast strike to an area of the body not in the user's immediate focus. If one wanted to attack the throat, for instance, then the eyes would shift to the chest area and the user would perhaps begin mixing more kicks into their attacks before attacking the more lethal target. It could outright ignore the Hyuuga's ability to shut down external chakra expression—it used no external chakra, after all. The Uchiha could not intercept their attacks when those attacks came with no warning and immediately disabled arms and legs. Like all the others, it could be beaten—but the price for failure was typically death.

Instant Fist had come and gone in a flash over a ten-or-so year period, showing up shortly before the Second Great War and disappearing the night of the Kyuubi's attack. It had only ever had one practitioner, but the man had painted a legend for himself with the blood of countless foes. Namikaze Minato, Konoha's very own Yondaime Hokage, had created a style that was still feared _to this day_ even years after his death, with no sign of it ever returning. The style had relied on a combination of three techniques—Hiraishin, Rasengan, and a style of taijutsu Yondaime had created specifically to take advantage of Hiraishin. Since no one quite knew what Hiraishin did, they were equally unsure exactly how the taijutsu part of it worked—though Anko suspected that it was similar to Hebi, in focusing on instantly-lethal attacks. Perhaps, if she were very, _very_ lucky Hinata may just be able to uncover the man's secrets—either through Jiraiya or some other source—and return them to Naruto some day, where they belonged. Until then, Instant Fist would remain only a legend.

There were, of course, more styles—Tsunade's Meteoric Fist and Jiraiya's Toad Fist, for instance were both well known and feared but were typically overshadowed by their other feats and accomplishments. Hinata was, at the moment, willing to add another style to the list: the Cat Fist. Neko had _invented her own godsdamned taijutsu style_ specifically to take advantage of her ability to manipulate terrain—and what Hinata had come to call the Nekoken was the most terrifying style she had ever laid eyes on. Given that she had seen every style on that list but Instant Fist and Intercepting Fist in action, that was saying something. Neko's attacks were _all_ Hebi-level unpredictable—except, unlike Hebi, Neko had taken her cat fetish to ridiculous heights and incorporated a variant of what looked like chakra scalpels into _all_ of her unarmed strikes, be they from hands, feet, knees, or elbows.

Every single strike came with anywhere from three to five nearly-invisible razors of pure chakra that could phase through armor and flesh to rend the muscle and organs beneath it, extending her reach two to three inches from the point of contact—more if she pushed it. Thankfully for Hinata, Neko had yet to pull that trick and had stuck to striking only her exposed flesh. Similarly to Raking Claw, the Cat Fist used swipes, jabs, and raking attacks—but it did not focus on them, incorporating pretty much whatever the situation called for. Like many of the techniques on that list, it relied on superior speed to utilize offense as defense. Unlike others on the list, Neko _always_ had the high ground, more force to her blows, and if she _ever_ lost her footing it was intentionally in an effort to open up new avenues of attack. Put a sword in the woman's hands though, and it was something else entirely.

Needless to say, Hinata had not won a single spar against her captain since being inducted into ANBU—not that she expected to, but it would have been nice to at least land a blow. Many of those, she had barely managed to _survive_ without a reset. According to the rest of ANBU Nine, this was nothing out of the ordinary—no one had been able to even so much as match her aside from Tora, and that was only when he had a sword in his hand. Gai may have been Konoha's taijutsu master, but Yuugao was a damn close second. Unlike Gai, Yuugao never advertised—everyone not of Konoha who had the misfortune to see the Nekoken in action died and Neko had no desire whatsoever to spread awareness of her own skills; surprise was more useful to the woman than fear by reputation. Apparently, the two of them had only ever had one sparring session—it was still whispered about, even years later. They had destroyed an _entire_ training field with nothing but taijutsu and _both_ of them had wound up in the hospital for a solid month. There had been no more matches between them since—they had been outright forbidden by Sandaime. Rumor had it, Gai won by knockout—but just barely, succumbing to blood-loss shortly thereafter. Kitsune had of course figured out exactly when the match in question took place and would do everything in her power to be there to see it, if she remembered.

It had taken only one practice session with Neko before Kitsune had begun blatantly using the Sakura Grove to dissuade Neko from getting close. It did absolutely no good _whatsoever_, regardless of how much chakra she put between them. Anything she managed to land—and she had yet to so much as _graze_ Neko in anything approaching a vital area that would induce a knockout or otherwise hamper her movement—had simply been adjusted for and shrugged off, to be ignored. Using the Sakura Grove to spawn clones outside the older ANBU's immediate range and then switch places with them at the last minute was the only thing saving Kitsune from having to constantly use medical techniques to stay on her feet. Even that defense was becoming harder to use—Neko was apparently chakra-sensitive on a level that put most jonin to shame and could immediately detect the switch _and_ which way she'd gone, regardless of the number of transfers and since Hinata used yuurei bunshin, Neko could easily tell the difference between clone and creator. Ranged fire with everything from shuriken to kunai to bows with cloned arrows were all dodged, deflected, or danced through as the woman simply closed range again and forced Kitsune into brief but intense bouts of hand-to-hand combat.

Today, though, Kitsune had had a _plan_. Like all plans, it fell apart the moment it met the enemy—or in this case, Neko. Her plan had been simple—lure Neko to water and see if kitty could swim. She remembered, too late, Neko's claim to fame—terrain manipulation, and the apparent godly trifecta that was her chakra affinity of Earth, Water, and Fire. Of the three, Kitsune was beginning to suspect that Neko favored Water—if only for the results of the absolute _beating_ she had received. When Neko stepped on water—when she _chose_ to simply _step_ on water—it was with the same surety she had on land, if not more so. Water flattened, hardened, and shaped around her feet to provide traction whichever way the woman wanted even more than on land. Worse, when she didn't step, she skated. Kitsune had thought Neko was fastest on land—she had been mistaken. On water, Neko could accelerate herself to seemingly-unmatchable speed and go anywhere from there. If the woman stuck with a head-on attack, blows came in at bone-rattling intensity—Kitsune was sure Neko was holding back to keep from shattering her limbs outright and learning a new level of bodily-reinforcement with chakra became priority _one_ from that point on.

Unfortunately for Kitsune, Neko rarely attacked head-on. The elder ANBU would, on occasion, lower herself to nearly skimming the water's surface and then come in from beneath Kitsune's meager defenses, tossing the girl around like a rag doll and leaving her clothes shredded and soaked through. When Neko decided to come in from the top and launched herself from the water's surface to attack from above, she stayed airborne longer than seemed possible to send blows raining down from unexpected angles that knocked Kitsune off her footing and threatened to send her under. The fact that she got off the water's surface at all was simply due to Neko deciding practice was over, and swatting the girl halfway across the pond in the center of their training field to land in a tumble of limbs and a spray of mud on the shore.

So it was that Hinata—or Kitsune, rather—found herself rolling off her stomach to breathe something other than mud but too tired and sore to move beyond that. Regarding her newest sensei strolling up from the pond's surface through half-open eyes, she fought to regain her breath enough to speak. By the time she could, Neko had taken a seat further up the bank so as to avoid the mud. "Do you have a special place in your heart reserved for the joy you take, toying with me like a mouse?"

"Pain is weakness leaving the body," Neko shrugged, smiling beneath her mask—Kitsune had lasted a whole thirty seconds longer today, and _that_ atop Neko's favorite playground. Anko was right, she absorbed new things like a sponge.

"You're wrong," Kitsune denied, even as a clone phased into being above her and began going over her with medical chakra. "Pain is the body screaming 'stop doing this, you idiot.'" A moment later, she snorted. "Maybe I should just disable or tone-down my pain receptors."

"Bad idea," Neko denied. "I've heard of such dead-body techniques used before. They work well in the short term, but long-term consequences are dire."

Kitsune nodded. "I figured as much. Probably wind up tearing my body apart from the inside out. At least it's good for pain relief, after." That didn't mean she wouldn't use the technique, it just meant she'd have to experiment and find the right balance—numbing her body without deadening it could prove beneficial.

"You are left with only one option," Neko mused quietly, drawing the girl's attention. "Adapt and overcome."

Snorting, Kitsune rolled her eyes beneath her mask. "Right. If I started practicing at the age of three with what I know now, focusing on nothing but trying to reverse engineer your technique or finishing the Sakura Grove, I might, _maybe_ be able to match you. For all of two minutes. You're bigger, have more mass, more stamina, and a longer reach with an adult body while I do not. And you would still have more experience than me."

Neko shook her head. "You are missing the obvious answer." When Kitsune hummed in question, she pointed out, "You could always stay in the present and learn the technique firsthand."

Kitsune was so surprised, she sat up and removed her mask to regard the woman with an incredulous look. "That's got to be a family technique," she began, only for Neko to shake her head in denial.

"It is—would have been. May be again. _That_ is the point. If passing on my technique to a worthy successor—even if you are outside my line—ensures the survival and prosperity of Konoha, then that is what I will do. If it helps keep you alive and safeguards our future in you, then I am _happy_ to do so." Left unsaid was that if it would ensure Tora's return to her, Neko would give the girl whatever she thought would help in achieving that goal.

Hinata blinked, unsure what to say. Finally, she murmured, "You realize this means I owe you a debt I can't repay."

"You can," Neko denied. On Hinata's curious look, she smiled beneath her mask but shook her head. "One day, before you leave, remember to ask. Until then, don't worry about it."

Chuckling, Hinata replaced her mask and stood with the assistance of her clone, before joining Neko further up the bank where it was dry. "So, where do we begin?"

Happy to see the younger girl seemed ready to begin immediately, Neko hummed. "Baby steps. Learn to _walk_ first, then learn to run, then learn to fight."

"In other words," Kitsune interpreted, "get my elemental manipulation up to something usable for terrain manipulation."

Neko nodded. "You're naturally inclined towards water, like me, so this should be easy. Luckily for you, we have a readily-available source of water on hand."

Heaving a sigh, Kitsune made for the water. "Teach me, O wise and magnificent Neko-chan."

Rolling her eyes, Neko stood to join her student. "I will retitle you as the mouthy one," she threatened halfheartedly.

"Please," Kitsune snorted. "Gecko's mouthier by far."

* * *

There was a saying as old as any ninja code or credo that was particularly popular among the older members of the village, likely due to long years of experience proving it to be true: 'speak of the devil and he shall appear.' Whether by fate or karma, bored deities, random chance, or Murphy taking an unhealthy interest in someone it basically boiled down to the fact that if it would be in some way inconvenient for a person one disliked, hated, or feared to show up, then speaking their name would surely summon them. So it was that Hinata found herself standing across a field looking at a pair of figures dressed in black robes patterned with red clouds, large straw kasa hats hiding their facial features from view—or they would have, had her eyes not seen right through them.

Luckily, she was not alone—nor was this her operation. Upon learning that someone had infiltrated Konoha and disabled two of their best jonin, Neko had immediately tasked her with finding out the who and how. The fact that Kurenai and Gai had both been disabled was somewhat worrying, seeing as they were working together at the time and both were highly skilled jonin in their individual fields. 'Who' turned out to be two S-ranked missing-ninja so high up on the priority list that they rated two ANBU squads—each. 'How' was a bit trickier to work out. Apparently, they had just walked right in past a chuunin guard who, after taking one look at them and tensing for a moment, ignored them and went back to minding his own business—everyone in-the-know suspected genjutsu, and being that Itachi was something of a prodigy, it wasn't exactly unexpected.

"Well, well—looks like we rated our own welcoming committee, Itachi," a deep voice rumbled from the taller of the pair and a large, blue-skinned hand reached up to push back a kasa hat to reveal a man who looked to be less man, more shark.

"We are surrounded," Itachi confirmed quietly, studying the group gathered directly before them. A few of those gathered he actually recognized, if not from his time in ANBU then by reputation. It was a bit disconcerting, seeing his own mask staring back at him from one of the three positioned to engage him at close range—along with Neko, whom he knew by reputation, and Falcon who he did not know but was shaping up to be a weapon-user of some sort given her pole-arm. Deciding that searching for their target within Konoha was now impossible as their cover was thoroughly blown, Itachi chose to cut their losses—unfortunately, the clones they were using were far too useful to simply give up so to justify it, they would need to at least disable half the numbers opposing them to ensure their escape and continued use of the cloned bodies.

The problem with dispatching multiple ninja to take out a single target, as Itachi well knew, lie in the fact that there was only so much room to maneuver within and that those working against their one target had to have exceptional teamwork in order not to step on each other's toes. From their makeup, the Uchiha knew that there were at least two teams dispatched to both himself and Kisame—meaning a total of somewhere between ten and twelve ninja between chuunin and jonin level, each. If the captains had any sense at all, the lower-ranked ninja would be the ones hanging back in reserve positions or providing ranged fire support—potentially six ninja each, lobbing weapons into any opening they saw. Closer in would be three providing mid-range support, either defensive or offensive—in Itachi's case, someone wearing a lizard-type mask, a boar, and a rabbit. Within hand-to-hand range would be elite jonin, or very, very skilled special-jonin. Neko was very obviously a jonin of the elite variety and the largest threat by far. Falcon would be a good counter to Kisame's sword, but not much good against Itachi himself based on his limited observation of her. Which left his own past staring him in the face—a particularly short girl who stood out only in that she did not stand out to the naked eye—his sharingan knew the truth, however, and could see chakra floating around the girl in a technique he'd seen described in scrolls within the Uchiha library, on a list of things to be on the lookout for and kill anyone using them if possible.

"So Itachi, can we kill 'em?" Kisame grunted, hefting his massive sword off his back and pointing it idly at one of his own set of ANBU—one wearing a bear mask.

"Or you could leave—" Bear began, only for Itachi's own answer to cut him off.

"Ameterasu."

Neko ignored the sudden screaming, instead focusing on weaving her blade into a pattern she, Tiger, and Falcon had practiced time and again—Kitsune would either be okay, or would reset herself and they would do things differently. Until then, her focus was on the rogue Uchiha. She tuned out the sudden outgrowth of plant-life from Kisame's position, where Bear and his own were moving to engage and cut the two missing-nin off from each other, beyond taking note of its position for potential use.

Kitsune was quickly finding out just why Ameterasu was considered one of the most deadly conceptual weapons known to ninja, as neither Gecko nor Usagi could extinguish the flames with any combination of earth, water, or ice. She was lucky, really, in that it had only been her _chakra_ that caught fire, as opposed to flesh and bone—except that was wrong. It hadn't just caught chakra—she could feel it, all over and deep inside. It was burning her—her very _self_ being unmade. It was not pleasant. Unfortunately for Itachi, she was nothing if not determined.

Itachi frowned as the ANBU he'd left for dead stood and chakra surged at the release of some sort of storage seal. A moment later, sharingan eyes narrowed as chakra strands painted black in Ameterasu's flames wove together and blurred around himself, Neko, and Falcon—any potential escape cut off by a wall of death of his own making. The pair before him took immediate advantage and, for the first time in years, Itachi was forced to deploy his own blade to deflect strikes coming in almost fast enough to be invisible to his own advanced eyes. Now he knew why Neko and Falcon were paired to take him on, as opposed to Kisame—both were ridiculously fast and the combined attacks were almost enough to confuse his eyes, and their teamwork was exceptional as they had obviously drilled together for some time to be able to cover and create openings for each other as they did. It felt, however, as though it were missing something—a space here or there would open and several times, the rogue Uchiha expected to be met with a third blade, only for it to never come. Given the fact that he hadn't heard anything from his contacts about any ANBU using his old mask until only recently, he could only surmise that Kitsune was a new recruit meant to fill the hole left by whoever had been the third prong of Neko's little attack pattern.

Taking stock of the situation and his rapidly dwindling odds of escaping a trap of his own unintentional making with his clone-body intact, Itachi resolved himself to investing more into this little fishing expedition than he had initially thought would be needed and so settled on a course of action. At the moment, the only things keeping him from breaking off from the assault and fleeing with Kisame were Kitsune's wall of fire and Neko and Falcon hemming him into a corner. If he could disable one of those, he could likely get free. However, if both were disabled, his chances of escaping with the clone intact increased exponentially. Allowing himself to be herded into position, Itachi suddenly stopped and held his ground as he lined Neko up with the still-visible Kitsune.

"Tsukiyomi."

* * *

The world had seemed to invert, like a photo negative, momentarily before going dark. Now, Hinata found the world washed out in the silver-gray light of dusk, interrupted on occasion by flashes of bright, white light. Beneath her feet—bare feet, she noted absently—wet sand squished up between her toes and _waves_ lapped cold at her legs just below her knees. The air smelled heavily of ozone and brine and the foreboding potential that hangs in the air just before the worst sort of storms. Of course, there was another smell, too—one more immediate in both presence and urgency: smoke. With the smoke came the realization that _she was on fire_. Finally, _pain_ registered like nothing she'd ever felt before and she collapsed with a splash and hiss of steam and more smoke into the waves—unable to even scream.

It could have been days, years, she drifted half-in, half-out of consciousness before she was finally able to force her eyes open—well, one eye. The right one didn't seem to want to respond—it didn't _hurt_ exactly, but it seemed to be ignoring her brain's commands to move. Which was more and less than she could say for various other areas—her entire right side felt raw and stiff, but experimentation showed it was capable of movement. Slowly, tentatively, her right hand came up and felt around the unresponsive eye—tender, burned flesh on more of the same. Finding it whole, at least from the outside, she forced the eye open and found the world tinted in red. A few blinks showed the lids worked—they had simply been glued together with blood. That done, she hauled herself out of the water as gently as she could, idly noting the way it had tinged red around her body and the distinctly pink color of the runoff.

_'Not in Konoha any more,'_ she mused, eyes flitting across her surroundings in confusion. Spaced unevenly to either side of her, jutting out from the shallow water like oversized grave markers, stood colossal structures all in some state of decay—a crumbling bell-tower here, a burned out clock tower there, a steeple missing half its roof yonder. Where ever she looked, every structure held a common element—bells, uncountable bells of size ranging from tiny hand-bells to gigantic clock bells and shapes ranging from ordinary to what had once been fine masterworks of art before the ravages of time set in, all of them tied, lashed, or chained to anything that would bear them. Something about them seemed vaguely ominous, but she couldn't for the life of her place why. _'I know I didn't reset and we're a few days or a few weeks of travel away from anywhere vaguely resembling... here. I think I've been here before, but I can't have...'_

The thought froze in her mind and shattered as she laid eyes on the largest visible structure, half-submerged as it was and looking ready to fall down at the least provocation. The sea she had found herself knee deep in, the island in the distance, even the huge storm front rolling in quickly and the smaller structures surrounding it were inconsequential compared to the tower. It was familiar—of course, it should be. She had seen it at least once a day every day of her life as it stood proudly over everything else in Konoha. It was time-worn and had obviously been beaten by the elements—even more so than she had ever seen it before—and there was a great, gaping hole in its side but there was no mistaking it for any other building. In the middle of the sea stood the Hokage's tower, Konoha's administration building. It didn't make sense.

Further study of the imitation Tower—it couldn't _really_ be the Tower, could it?—was cut short by a sound. It was not a particularly loud sound, but then in the dead silence surrounding her it stood out—despite the lightning in the distance and the feel of wind and waves against her skin, there had been no sound yet. Slowly turning her head towards the sound, Hinata's eyes went wide as she took in what had stood at her back the whole time. Waves lapped against sandy shore nearby. Further away, the ground was cracked and baked—looking more like a wasteland than any desert. The moon hung high—full, bloody red and terrible—casting its light across the surroundings. Odd structures—racks, crosses, _torture devices_ her mind whispered absently—stretched as far as the eye could see over and into the wasteland.

The sound came again and pale eyes finally locked on its source—a woman with a familiar face and long, purple hair, strung up on one of the X-shaped racks. She gurgled, quietly—_urgently_—as the black-and-red cloaked individual beside her slowly pushed his short-sword deeper into her side. She locked eyes with him—red eyes spinning, boring into her own with a cool indifference that seemed so much worse than hate, as though he were god of this land and she something unexpected and unwelcome underfoot—and she knew, _knew_ where she was now. She stood safe in her own little world, ready to run away from reality at a moment's notice and reshape things as she saw fit. She could feel it, now, itching at the back of her mind—the impulse to run, let herself be swept out to sea and wash up elsewhere. She almost did—would have, had her eyes not been drawn back to Yuugao, whose lips were moving. She didn't need to hear the older woman's words to understand her plea: _go, leave me._ A flick of the wrist and the blade twisted horizontal to vertical, and Yuugao screamed.

The sea around her legs stilled for a moment before rushing out and away, leaving her standing on nothing but wet sand for a moment before returning faster than it had left and rushing towards the shore. Sound returned all at once—crack of thunder, howl of wind, roar of onrushing sea, boom and chime of a thousand, thousand bells. She ran.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **There's no way this can turn out bad, right? I mean, Itachi will probably just do what he did in canon—liquor Jiraiya up and try to kidnap Naruto... Yeah, no. Remember, this is the guy who tortured his own kid brother—the one person from his family he wouldn't bear to see killed—and basically told Sasuke to become strong enough to kill him one day, in order to make sure Sasuke would be strong enough to survive Danzou and whatever else Konoha threw at him. I'll (have Itachi) explain it later, but (my thinking on) his reasoning is that at the time, the Uchiha clan wasn't exactly well-liked—had been planning a rebellion, in fact, which is why they were put down—so he assumed Sasuke would have a childhood more akin to Naruto's (likely feels the way they grew up being treated should have been reversed, in a fair world, as I'll have him point out later). Konoha, however, wants the Sharingan bad enough to spoil the hell out of Sasuke to attempt to keep him loyal and in a few years, make lots of little Uchiha babies. Itachi willingly made himself the biggest villain of Sasuke's world to drive him to greatness. It didn't exactly take well at first, but in the end (I think) he felt he was justified and proven right. Imagine what he will do to someone he has no love for—no reason not to simply break. Actually, all the more reason to try and break her to either destroy a potential threat to Konoha or use her for his own goals.

On Hinata vs Itachi: There is no way, _no way_, Hinata can possibly beat Itachi. Not with a hundred years worth of repeats. Sometimes, insurmountable obstacles truly are _insurmountable_.

On ANBU: actually, I think I had Yuugao explain that sufficiently. She owed Anko a favor and considered it, then looked into it and when things didn't add up, figured it out for herself before going to Ibiki and asking—if she was wrong, then all she'd done is step on a few toes and maybe make herself look a little over-paranoid.

On Kankuro: his thinking is pretty simple—no lasting damage was done and he'd known the risks going in, and they had been at war at the time. The torture, he can brush off as a job hazard. His sister, on the other hand, not so much. Given the opportunity, he would likely at least attempt to beat Hinata senseless. As it stood, being in not-quite-enemy territory, it was best to simply leave before he did anything that would get him thrown back in one of Ibiki's uncomfortable rooms.

On memory techniques: bear in mind, Hinata has had no formal training as _anything_ at the moment. Everything she has is either in response to the threat that was Neji or to impress Naruto. She saw a problem in that she could not possibly retain everything she learned and so sought the most permanent solution she could think of—seals. Anko never mentioned them before now because she assumed, wrongly, that Hinata had been repeating longer than she had and already knew those techniques and was running into their upper limits.

On Yuugao: unlike Ibiki, Yuugao has a personal, vested interest in seeing Hinata succeed—much like Anko, actually. And yes, this Yuugao is more badass, less broken bird, and absolutely none of what canon future!Hinata could have become as I thought to do with TMH. As for passing on her techniques, I think I explained that sufficiently. She would rather those techniques be used to achieve her goals while keeping her hope for that to happen (Hinata) alive than hold onto them and have them not do a damn bit of good. Every advantage she can give at this point, she will. Again, bear in mind, I don't think Yuugao has _ever_ been properly characterized in canon, outside of filler episodes (which I treat as canon on a case-by-case basis, and I tend to disregard the anime almost entirely for the manga unless something in the anime is more useful or otherwise better). She is a blank slate, beyond a name, a pretty face, and her relationship with Hayate and I'm not sure but I think most of that may be fanon. In this little corner of the universe, she is about as badass as it is possible for a 'normal' ninja to get—no bloodlines, no clan, not exactly a child prodigy, everything she has is the result of hard work.

On the Nekoken: yes, it's a nod to Ranma 1/2. I tried to do the source material justice, but there are some things I couldn't do without overpowering it (the shredding of things with ki claws, for instance, was substituted for a realistic [within canon] alternative capable of doing internal damage) and I didn't want to give it the same origins, obviously.

On a dissertation on taijutsu styles within Konoha: I got bored. I figured there must be at least six or more distinctive styles, not counting anything random individuals are practicing. Intercepting Fist and Hebi are both fanon as far as I am aware, though I have no idea who to attribute them to. Instant Fist I made up on the spot as I was writing it (bearing in mind, it's not actually shown or stated anywhere [to my knowledge] exactly how Yondaime fights), but if it exists elsewhere I wouldn't be surprised. The rest, I just gave names to canon styles where I couldn't find one specifically named. While most of the nekoken is lifted straight from Ranma, I'm not sure but I think I may be the first to come up with Neko's brand of terrain manipulation. If I am, awesome. If not, no big loss. The skating-on-water thing is lifted from... uh.. Never Cut Twice, I think. It's a good Naruto-abandons-Konoha story, check it out if you haven't. As I said, I give credit where it's due if I can remember where it's due.

On Reality Marbles: time-travel, mist from corpses, and now a reality marble. I believe I had Jiraiya explicitly state that they could only be created by inhuman beings or those touched by them somehow. As for it defeating Tsukiyomi, it didn't. Can't, theoretically.

On delays: I was stuck on the last few scenes for months. It still didn't turn out entirely how I'd hoped, but I can live with it.


End file.
